Shinobi Tales
by antire5
Summary: A story about the adventures of a young ninja when he comes to the Land of Fire to train in Konoha. Sasaku makes friends and an even stronger relationship while there. But will his friendship be enough to battle the trials to come? Chapter 135 is up! R&R!
1. A New Program

Naruto woke up and strapped on his headband. He was exhausted, but Iruka-sensei was now teaching a class at the academy for the Genin. It was Sakura's idea, saying she'd like to go back to something like the academy, only more challenging. He lazily walked outside, and saw Konohamaru standing there. He was giving Naruto an evil glare.

"Sheesh Naruto," Konohamaru said, "I wish you'd wake up on time for once!" Naruto just blinked. "What the crap are you doing here?" he said. Konohamaru crossed his arms and turned away. "You promised you'd go with me to the academy today!" he snapped. "Well sorry!" Naruto said, "I don't even want to do this. I wanna go on a mission!"

The two walked to the academy, then went their separate ways. Naruto walked into the classroom that was to be used. It looked the exact same as the old one, just with fewer seats. Sakura, Sasuke, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Chouji, Ino, TenTen, Neji, and Lee were already sitting. "Naruto," Iruka said in a monotone, "you're late."

"Like I give a-"

The door opened behind Naruto, and Shikamaru walked in. Iruka sighed. "Now that everyone is here, we can begin." he said. Naruto sat next to Sakura, and Shikamaru went to the back of the class. There he could doze of without being noticed as easily. Iruka began. "Today," he said, "will be a day to show off to everyone your most powerful technique that you can use.

Lee raised his hand. "Iruka-sensei!" he said, "My most powerful technique is forbidden by master Gai-sensei!"

"I am aware of that Lee." Iruka sighed, "When I say can I also mean 'allowed to'." Lee gave a salute. "Yes sensei! Sorry for the confusion!" Naruto banged his head on the table. _'Bushy Brow is such an idiot!'_ he thought. "Before we do that though," Iruka said, "we have a student that has transferred here. This will not be the first, since this is a new program." He turned his attention to the door in front of the room "Come on in!"

A tall boy with green eyes and spiky black hair walked in. He slightly looked like Naruto. "My name is Enkou Sasaku." he said, "It is an honor to be here." Neji, who was to the right of Naruto, said "He looks strong, his chakra is strange. It is as if his training was self taught." Naruto smirked. "He doesn't look that tough. I bet I could beat him."

"NARUTO!!!" Iruka yelled, "SASAKU IS A NEW STUDENT, AND YOU SHOULDN'T BE DISRE-" Sasaku put a hand up towards Iruka for silence. "Iruka-sensei, correct me if I am wrong, but you said that today we were performing our most powerful techniques." he said, "If we may, I think I can make this blonde boy change his mind."

Iruka blinked. "Okay." he replied. The class walked outside. There was a wooden puppet with a tag on its face there. The tags read "raivu", or live. "We will be performing our moves on this." Iruka said. "Lee, you go first."

"Yes sensei!" Lee said, "I will be performing a technique I invented." He ran at the doll, and kicked it into the air. Lee then did a dropping axe kick to its face. It hit the ground, some of it chipping. Lee did a front flip and another dropping axe kick to the body. The entire thing splintered into millions of pieces.

Iruka brought out another of the puppets. Each one was shattered on the technique that was done. Not all of the students performed their signature move, just their strongest.

Neji did the 128 palms technique.

TenTen did her scroll attack.

Kiba did the Fang Over Fang.

Hinata did a series of gentle fist attacks that flowed with such grace it caught Sasuke in awe.

Shino attacked with a swarm of bugs.

Shikamaru did the Shadow Strangle.

Ino did a technique were she attacked with a series of random movements that kept everyone guessing and ended with a brute punch to the face.

Chouji did his Human Boulder jutsu.

Sakura did a ton of punches that kept knocking the doll in the air before slaming it into a nearby tree.

Sasuke put a hole right through it with the Chidori,

Naruto was called up and he made six shadow clones. One began to make the Rasengan, one punched the puppet backwards, and the other three kicked it high in the air. The rasengan was done, Naruto jumped off the back of one of his clones. He kicked the puppet to the ground. Naruto then screamed out "RASENGAN BARRAGE!!!" The rasengan obliterated the puppet.

Naruto laughed. "Man, I didn't know if that would work!" he said, "I got the idea from Bushy Brows. See if you can beat that, Sasaku!" Sasaku walked foreword. "My training has been mostly self taught." he said, "This means that I've done a lot of experiments. I have also observed what happens when two very powerful ninjutsu collide.

"One time, I decided to see how the two techniques you just saw before me go together. I don't do this often not only because of the energy it drains, but also because of the danger. You may want to step back." All the other students backed up except Naruto. _'I doubt it's that great.'_ he thought to himself.

Sasaku took in a deep breath as the last puppet stood there.

_To Be Continued..._


	2. Contention

_Just FYI, it may seem difficult to place when this fanfic exists. Let's go with it is in an alternate timeline where Sasuke never left for Orochimaru. This means that Naruto never left and I suppose you could say this is in the time between the first series and the Shippuden timeline. Don't worry; it kind of confuses me too. However, it isn't as confusing as my original idea for the fanfic..._

Sasaku inhaled deeply. Everyone stared, waiting for him to make a move. The wooden doll shifted its feet. Sasaku was about to do something. "Hurry up, will ya!" Naruto yelled. Sasaku stumbled and fell foreword. He then pulled a tag out of the pouch on his thigh. He threw it at Naruto and it stuck to his face. He let out muffled yells of rage as he tried to rip it off. Once he did he had to rub his lips from the slight amount of skin it ripped off.

Everyone laughed as Sasaku took the stance again. He ran for the doll, and then jumped in the air high above it. He then weaved the hand signs for Chidori. His hand became coated in a lightning. Then he held out his other hand and a Rasengan formed in it. He slammed his two hands together with the palms facing the doll. A huge blast of rainbow colors that was as bright as the sun shot from his palms.

Everyone had to shield his or her eyes from the beams intensity. It burrowed into the ground, sending rubble flying everywhere. It faded, and the ground had a huge gaping hole in it. _'I bet that pierced through to the other side of the planet.'_ Naruto thought. "That wasn't that great!" he then announced to everyone. "Where'd Sasaku go?" Ino asked.

They all looked up. Sasaku was falling at an extremely fast pace. He was able to fall near a tree and used his charka to grind down it until he slowed to a stop. Everyone ran over to him. They all gave him shouts of praise for what he did. He just stood there and smiled. "That was an amazing display!" Iruka said, "Class is dismissed for the day." He then turned to Sasuke. "Can I see you and Sasaku after in a half hour?" he asked.

Everyone else ran off as Sasuke and Sasaku nodded. Iruka walked off. "That was pretty nice." Sasuke said lazily. "Thanks." Sasaku said as he grabbed onto the tree for support. "Does that use up a lot of charka?" Sasuke asked. Sasaku shook his head. "That was the first time I've done that in the air." he said, "And the last time I do it without having something sturdy under me."

********************

The two boys stood in the classroom waiting for Iruka. He came into the room. "What do you want?" Sasuke asked, "I have more important things to do." Iruka looked at Sasuke. "You are the top student in the class," he said, "I want Sasaku to fight you and see how well he fares." Saskue laughed.

"That would hardly be fair Iruka. I'll give him a week to prepare before he faces me. Currently he wouldn't stand a chance." Sasaku said. Iruka looked surprised and Sasuke scowled. "No!" Sasuke said, "Today, at training area 16!" Sasuke jabbed at him. Sasaku smirked. "Would you like an audience?" Sasaku asked. "Why?" was Sasukes response. "Because," Sasaku laughed, "if you don't, I'll stop the little eavesdropper in the hall from spreading the news.

Naruto, who was in the hall, heard this and ran to tell everyone. Sasuke ran out the door and saw Naruto turn a corner before he disappeared from sight. "I suppose I can kick your butt in front of all the other Genin." he said.

********************

Sasuke was walking next to Sasaku to the training field. "So," Sasaku said, "are there any hot girls at this school." Sasuke shrugged. "I'm not into girls." he said, "I have something to take care of first." Sasaku laughed. He put his hands behind his head and smiled. "When I was there, two of those girls wouldn't stop checking you out."

Sasuke smiled. "You have no idea how annoying it gets." Sasuke said, "It has been that way with nearly every girl I've met."

Sasaku laughed like a madman. "Dude, I'd do anything to have that reputation!" he said, "So why do they like you? It can't be your personality." Sasuke glared at Sasaku. "I hope your fighting skills are as sharp as your wit." he sarcastically said. They made their way to the arena. Naruto, Sakura, Ino, Lee, and Konohamaru were all there to watch. They walked in and closed the gates. The entire sparing ring was fenced off. Inside was nothing but a dirt floor.

"KICK HIS BUTT SASUKE!!!!!" Ino and Sakura yelled simultaneously. Naruto wanted to root for Sasaku, but wouldn't admit it for two reasons: his pride, and Sakura would kill him. Lee just stood and observed.

"Are you ready?" Sasuke asked.

"As I'll ever be!" Sasaku replied.

_To be continued..._


	3. Fights and Friends

It was dead silent. Sasuke and Sasaku just stared each other down. Time went by. Tension was building. Not even Naruto said anything. The wind blew, neither one of them moved. Sasaku tightened his headband. Sasuke charged him at full speed. He punched at Sasaku, who grabbed his fist. Sasaku then yanked Sasuke's arm toward him, sending Sasuke foreward. He then did an uppercut to Sasuke's stomach.

Sasuke stumbled back and doubled over in pain. Sasaku then punched Sasuke across the face. Sasuke hit the ground hard. He then chucked eight throwing stars at Sasaku. Sasaku simply deflected all of them with the metal plates on his gloves. Sasuke then jumped into the air and began weaving hand signs. Sasaku did the same.

"Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled. Sasaku laughed. "Water style: Water Bullet!" he yelled. The water stopped the fire, but it used a lot of charka to do that move without any water to use. Sasaku parried a kick, and then jumped over Sasuke. He did a dropping axe kick to Sasuke's head. Sasuke coughed up blood as he slammed into the ground.

He flipped onto his back and kicked Sasaku into the air. He then did the (I think it's called) Dancing Leaf Shadow technique (you know; the one he got from Lee that he uses when he does the Lion's Barrage, where you mimic the movements of your enemies by staying under them... anyway...). He was about to make the first kick for the Lion's Barrage, when Sasaku reached back and grabbed Sasuke's shoulders.

He then flipped down under Sasuke and, keeping his momentum, drove both knees into his back. Sasuke slammed into the fence surrounding the arena. He slid to the ground. Sasaku landed and said, "I win." Sasuke struggled to get up. He had his Sharingan. Sasaku laughed when he saw this. He then closed his eyes and took a fighting position.

Sasuke growled. He ran at Sasaku, whose eyes were still closed. He came at him with full rage, the chirping noise of the Chidori ringing. He lunged at Sasaku. Suddenly, all was quiet. Sasuke was doubled over, panting. Sasaku had a grip on his arm, and a fist in his stomach. Sasuke then screamed in rage. The curse mark he had begun to leak. "CHIDORI!!!" he screamed.

It was his third successful one that day. He ripped straight through Sasaku like rice paper. When the smoke cleared, Sasuke fell to his knees. Two pieces of a log lay beside him. His curse mark receded. Sasuke then saw Sasaku charging at him. He screamed and closed his eyes tightly.

Then he heard laughter. He opened his eyes to see Sasaku and Lee chuckling, and Naruto on the ground cracking up. "I never knew Sasuke screamed like a frikin' girl!" he said between laughs. Sasuke glared at him. "Good fight." Sasaku said, offering a hand to help him up. Sasuke knocked it away, then walked out of the arena. Sasaku frowned after him and began to walk out too.

Sakura and Ino cut him off. They glared at him really intensely. Sasaku then looked at them, and recognized them as the ones admiring Sasuke in class. Almost from nowhere, he pulled two flowers and held it out to them. "I apologize that I hurt, Sasuke." he said to them, "But it was the sensei's orders."

The two girls looked at him in shock. "No problem." Saskura said.

"Err... thanks." Ino said. Sasaku walked past them as they both mulled over what had just happened in their mind. Naruto glared at him. He was even better with the ladies than Sasuke. Sasaku walked to the store to get some food. After that, he went to the apartment building he was living at.

With one bag in hand, he began to unlock his door. "What the heck are you doing here?!?" he heard in the annoying voice he was already to familiar with. "Naruto," Sasaku said, "please tell me you're here visiting someone." Naruto shook his head. "I live in that apartment!" he said pointing to the one right next to Sasaku's.

Sasaku silently unlocked his door, went in side, and calmly closed it. Naruto could hear something big being moved. Sasaku panted as he barred his door with the sofa. He then put the food he got away, all the while thinking, _'Why me? What did I do to deserve him as a next door neighbor.'_

Sasaku was eating a snack, when he heard loud bangs coming from the wall separating him from Naruto. He grumbled as he walked out to complain. When he knocked on the door, he heard lots of noise coming from behind it. Naruto came and answered the door. Behind him were tons of other Narutos fighting, hitting punching bags, and doing other forms of training.

"What do you want Sasaku?" Naruto said, "I'm busy." Sasaku would have told him to keep it down, but the clones kept him intrigued. "Are those... shadow clones?" he asked. "Yeah," Naruto replied, "why?" Sasaku gulped. Now he had to crush his own pride. "Could you" he slowly said, "maybe, possibly, teach me that jutsu?"

Naruto stood there in shock. Neither of them was expecting this. Naruto smiled. "Sure, but you're buying dinner." Sasaku laughed. "Buy it?" he said, "I'll make it!"

And thus began the friendship that would be thought impossible on first impression.

_To be continued..._

_**I'm sorry for the lame ending, but I ran out of ideas. Look, I swear there will be more action next chapter. Until then, please read and review.**_


	4. Alone in an Alley

Sasaku yawned as he woke up. He then walked outside and locked the door. Today the class was going to cover higher caliber genjutsu and how to disable them. _'Boring...'_ he thought to himself. But he had promised his father he would do this. He missed his dad. About a year ago he left his home to train. He'd been doing pickup missions and training with a few Shinobi since then. His dad then sent him a letter telling him to go to the school in Konoha.

Thoughts ran through his head as he walked down the street. He was a morning person, and the sun was half raised. It was chilly, so he pulled his headband over his ears. He wanted to explore the village a little today. After picking up some breakfast, he heard a scream come from a nearby alley. Sasaku ran to see what was going on.

A man was standing there, and a girl with jet-black hair was on the ground. The man picked her up by the shirt. "Do you think you can just go running through my alley as you please?!?" he yelled at the girl. "I-I-I'm sorry." she whimpered, "I didn't know anyone lived down here." He pulled his hand up to punch.

"Hey!" Sasaku yelled, "I don't know the whole situation, but I'm thinking you should let her go." While the man was distracted, the girl kicked him in the groin. He screamed in pain and dropped the girl. The man swore at her as he grabbed a sword that he had apparently stashed behind him. The katana let out a hiss, as it was unsheathed. It was a deep black color, with red decorating the handle.

He came down on the girl as she screamed. A loud bang of metal rang out. Sasaku's gloves had barely blocked the blow. He grabbed the man's arm and slammed him into a wall. The man growled as he punched Sasaku across the face. Sasaku stumbled back, and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "Over here!" came a shout.

Sasaku was sanding at one end of the alley. "No, over here!" came another shout. A shadow clone of Sasaku's stood at the other end. "Up here!" One more shadow clone and the real one stood atop the buildings that formed the alley. The two on the sides charged the man and the two on top jumped down to him.

The man laughed. "Ninja Art:" he said, "Kuro Takai Justu!" He spun around and black waves of energy hit all of the Sasakus. The shadow clones disappeared and the real one fell down with a streak of blood flowing from his cheek. The girl then went up to attack the man, but he grabbed her arm and threw her in the air. She collided with Sasaku, and they both landed hard on opposite sides of the man.

Sasaku stood up and shook his head. He was beat up badly. He would have to use a technique he self-forbade himself from using. "Tomokenzan Kagamimanako!" he yelled. All-seeing mirror-eye. It was a combination of the Sharingan and Byakugan. His eyes grew a light red in color. The center pupils disappeared. Three comma shaped things appeared in a circle in his eyes. Veins popped out at his temples.

The man saw this. "What is this?" he asked, almost afraid.

Sasaku laughed. "I'm no direct member of either clan," he said, "but my mom is a grandchild of one Hyuga. My father is the great-grandchild of a single Uchiha. Neither Kekkei Genkai appeared in my family until me. But these eyes will be the defeat of you!"

"Shut up!" the man said, "I didn't need to hear you frikin' life's story!" Sasaku smiled and closed his eyes. The man went at him, sword held high. Sasaku sidestepped and hit the man in one of his chakra points. The man gasped as Sasaku hit another, then two more, then four more. He then blocked eight more points, sixteen more, then thirty-two more.

Sixty-four of the man's chakra points had been blocked off. The man stumbled backward, and then began weaving hand signs. Sasaku did the exact same ones. "Fire Style:" they yelled simultaneously, "Dragon Fire Jutsu!" The two massive flames collided and made an explosion. Sasaku's eyes were still closed.

The man looked beat. He then let out a roar and held up his sword. "Kumori Tora!" he yelled, "GIVE ME POWER!!!!!" A black aura of chakra oozed out of the sword and covered the man's body. He began to laugh hysterically. Sasaku opened his eyes and looked at the girl. He sensed the man's power was getting beyond that of Lady Hokage.

"RUN!!!" he yelled at her, "Go! Now! I'll finish him." The girl didn't hear him. She was shaking in fear. She was so afraid she was crying. Sasaku swore. He then prepared to go all out. "Kaimon, open!" he yelled, his muscles tensing, "Kyumon, open! Seimon, open! Shomon, open!"

That was it. He released the four gates that he was able to. He then made an all out sprint at the man. He began hammering the man like no tomorrow. The man then kicked Sasaku down. He had to close Shomon now because of the strain it and his Tomokenzan Kagamimanako created.

He then jumped back up and created four shadow clones. They each went after the man, and each was taken down. Sasaku now closed Seimon. He didn't need it. The man was getting weaker. Sasaku then kicked the man, who stumbled back and fell. A group of shuriken barely missed the man. The girl had thrown them. It seemed she'd finally recovered.

Sasaku couldn't hold Kyumon open anymore. He shut it and went at the man with a kunai. The man dodged and hit Sasaku backside the head with the sword handle. He then charged at the girl. She screamed as he pressed the sword to her thought. "You!" he said to Sasaku, "Commit suicide! Or this girl here dies!"

_To be continued..._

**Tell me, how was this compared to the last one? Seriously, I need tons of action in these things, so I even thought it was kind of boring. R & R.**


	5. The Shadow Demon

Sasaku was trembling in fear. He took a step foreword. "STOP!!!" the man yelled. He pushed the sword harder against the girl's throat. "KILL YOURSELF!!! NOW!!!!!" he screamed. A tear rolled down the girl's face. Sasaku pulled a kunai out of his holster. Was he actually going to do this for a girl he didn't even know?

"What the crap is going on here?!?" yelled someone from one end of the alley. The man looked toward the voice. Sasaku ran and got the girl from the man's arms. The man swore. Naruto stood at the end of the alley. "You..." he said looking at the man, "Mizuki..." The air seemed to radiate with bloodlust.

"MIZUKI!!!" Naruto screamed. The man looked at Naruto with a grin. "Naruto," he said, "it certainly has been a while." Naruto growled as he ran at Mizuki on all fours. A red chakra oozed out of his body, completely surrounding it. Mizuki sliced his arm with the katana. He laughed like a madman. "Your little fox can't win Naruto!" he said, "I now have the Kumori Tora!"

Naruto growled. Sasaku set the girl down. "Stay here." he said. The girl nodded. Sasaku then pulled out two kunai and got into a fighting position. "Naruto," he said, "we have to beat this guy." Naruto had an intense look on his face. Blood dripped off of his arm. Sasaku noticed that the wound already was healing. "I'll kill him myself!" Naruto said. The red chakra that was flowing from his body began to take a shape.

Naruto stood there on all fours. His chakra appeared to be a fox with two tails. Mizuki laughed again. He held out the sword and black chakra encased him. He got down on all fours as well. His chakra took the shape of a tiger. The two lunged at each other like animals. Any injuries they took were soon enough healed. All Sasaku and the girl could do was watch.

Suddenly, Mizuki kicked Naruto across the face. Naruto fell to the ground, unconscious. Mizuki brought his sword down on Naruto. Without thinking, Sasaku ran in front of the sword to stop it. It left a gash in his arm. Blood soon soaked his arm. Mizuki stood staring, Sasaku panting. Mizuki then slashed upward at Sasaku. He backed up, but the sword slashed over his eye and to his forehead, knocking off the headband.

Above and below Sasaku's right eye was bleeding. He was lucky it didn't go deep enough to get the actual eye. But it would forever leave a scar. Sasaku then attacked Mizuki, knocking the sword out of his hand. "NO!!!" Mizuki yelled. Sasaku then came in with a kick. Mizuki was falling backwards, when Sasaku got behind him and kicked him into the air.

Sasaku then punched him straight to the ground. He then threw tons of shuriken down at him. He then did the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu. All of the shuriken became more and more. All of them stuck into Mizuki. There were over a hundred. Mizuki was unconscious. Sasaku landed on his feet. "Shuriken Barrage." he said. His Tomokenzan Kagamimanako had disappeared. He strapped his headband back on.

Naruto's eyes fluttered open. The girl was sitting next to him. He noticed she was staring at Sasaku adoringly. That's when he saw Mizuki unconscious on the ground, with loads of holes in him. Sasaku walked over and helped Naruto and the girl up. "Are you two okay?" he asked. Naruto nodded. There was no evidence of any wound on his cheek.

"Yes." the girl said, "and thank you for all you did for me." Sasaku smiled. "So what is your name?" he asked. The girl started to speak, when an Anbu appeared right by Mizuki's body. "Well, well, well," Sasaku said, "isn't it that local authorities are supposed to show up before the fight starts?"

The Anbu looked at the body. He then motioned his hand, and almost out of nowhere, two more Anbu came and took the body. They were gone instantly. The Anbu walked over to the three. "The Black Ops would like to thank you." he said, "That man was a B-ranked criminal who broke out of prison about a week ago."

The three stood there. That man was a B-ranked criminal they defeated. The Anbu disappeared. "Well, see ya." the girl said, running off. "Wait!" Sasaku called, but she was already gone. He slumped against the wall. "Did she even give you her name?" Naruto asked. Sasaku shook his head.

Naruto began to walk away. "See you in school." he said smiling. _'Probably not.'_ Sasaku thought, _'I really took a beating.'_ He walked over to the katana on the ground. When he picked it up, he felt an evil energy washed over his body. In his mind, a black tiger with red stripes approached him. It smiled at Sasaku.

"**I am Kumori Tora!**" it said, "**I am the one tailed demon of darkness.**" Sasaku stumbled backwards in his mind. "Why are you in my head?" he said, eyeing the gate that separated them. "**I seek a host,**" he said, "**so I might use my power. Open this gate, the separation between your soul and mine. I will grant you absolute power. I will be unleashed.**

"**It is the way you demand. For this sword binds me to the commands of the wielder.**" Sasaku stood in front of the gate. "I will open the gate when I can test your power first." he said. The Kumori Tora laughed. "**As you wish...**" he said. Sasaku then became conscious of his surroundings. From picking up the sword, some of his injuries had disappeared.

_'I guess I better get going.'_ Sasaku thought. He decided he better make it to class. He took the sword and strapped it around his waist using his sash. The power and presence of the demon still haunted him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out gauze to wrap his arm. He then wiped the blood away from his eye. _'What have I gotten myself into?'_ he asked himself as he walked toward the academy.

_To be continued..._


	6. Sasaku's First Mission

Sasaku was still mulling over what just happened. The cut around his eye burned, as did his bandaged arm. The sword he had gotten had the evil presence of the Kumori Tora, and it frightened him. He still kept the sword. The demon was not sealed in his body, so it wasn't dangerous. He also saw how weak Mizuki was without it. Yet with it, he could take on Sasaku, Naruto, and that girl.

Sasaku remembered her face, the way her hair flowed, and the beauty of her pale skin. He didn't even know her name. He swore at himself for not going after her. He might never see her again. Yet he was dead-set on finding her again. She wasn't just another girl he wanted to impress; he thought that she might be "The One".

He kicked a rock as he entered the academy. Iruka was in there when he came in, as was Naruto, Chouji, Sakura, Kiba, and Hinata. "Sasaku," Iruka said, "may I speak with you?" Sasaku followed him into the door on the other side of the room. Iruka clapped his hands together. "How did you fare against Sasuke?" he asked.

Sasaku began laughing. He thought Naruto had told him about the fight earlier. "I kicked his butt!" he said, "You should have seen it! I came in to punch him and he screamed like a-" Sasaku then heard someone clear their throat on the other side of the room. He looked and saw Sasuke standing there, glaring at him.

"..."

"..."

".........."

"........................."

"OKAY! YES! HE BEAT ME! JEEZE! YOU DON'T NEED TO MAKE ME RELIVE IT!!!!!" Sasuke yelled. (Sorry, that was WAY to OOC. XP) Sasaku held back a laugh. They walked back into the front classroom. Everyone else had shown up. Sasaku sat next to Naruto. "Why didn't you tell me Sasuke was already back there?" he asked. Naruto shrugged.

The lesson went on. Iruka was talking about different types of genjutsu. Sasaku wasn't listening to the lesson much. He was thinking about the sword around his waist. And the girl. Mostly the girl. He couldn't focus because her face was stuck in his mind. He sighed. This was not what he signed up for. And to think he came from another continent just for this training.

He had sailed across the ocean just to reach Konoha. It took him a week, and then he had to travel for a few months on land. After that, he has to wait in the village to pass off as a Genin. Than it was another two months before the program started. Then yesterday he started training with Iruka, and won his first official fight. Then today was his first unofficial fight.

So far, all work, no reward. He still barely knew how to use chopsticks. "Sasaku..." Iruka said, "This is only your second day here. Naruto is paying more attention than you are." Sasaku sighed. Iruka continued on with his lecture. "How can you even listen to this-" Sasaku started. But Naruto cut him off. "Just listen." he said. Sasaku decided to listen to what Iruka-Sensei was saying.

"These seals have been long since lost." he said, "No one knows it, or if they do, they refuse to use it. Or teach it. This genjutsu was placed on the S-Ranked Forbidden list. This is because about two centuries ago, a man used this mind washing genjutsu to raise an army. This army consisted of bloodthirsty soldiers that had to listen to every word that he gave.

"The army was stopped by a group of twelve men, the first real shinobi. Afterwards, those twelve men were able to talk the seals to the jutsu out of the man. They and a select few were the only ones to ever know it. Then, one day, the scroll with the seals was stolen. The jutsu was never used or- as far as we know- taught after that. It is a genjustu that can only be overpowered by the strongest of wills. It is also believed, but not proven, that strong feelings or bonds may also break the jutsu."

A ninja came walking through the door. "Sasaku, Naruto, lady Hogake has requested a talk with you two." The two got up. Naruto grunted. They followed the ninja to the Hokage's office. As they walked through the door, they saw Tsunade sitting behind her desk. Sasaku's jaw dropped. He jabbed a finger at Naruto. "YOU SAID SHE WAS AN OLD HAG!!! YOU SAID SHE WAS IN HER FIFTIES!!! WHAT KIND OF JOKE IS THIS!?!?"

Tsunade looked at Naruto. "What did you say about me?" she said. There was a fire in her eyes that made them both flinch. "N-no-nothing mam!" Naruto said with a salute. Tsunade kept her eyes on him, than she looked at Sasaku. "I heard about what happened this morning from the Black Ops." she said, "Now that I know what you are capable of, I have requested a mission for the three of you."

"The three of us?" Naruto said. Sasaku's heart stopped. Could she mean... "Now," Tsunade said, "correct me if I am wrong, but there was also a girl that helped." Sasaku couldn't believe it. He might be reunited with her. "Well, I wouldn't say help-" Naruto began. Sasaku put a hand over Naruto's mouth.

"Oh, yeah!" he said, "There's no way we could have beaten Mizuki without her!" His grip tightened as Naruto tried to get out. Tsunade frowned at this, but continued, "She is already informed of the mission," she said, "and she is waiting for you at the front gate. She will give you all the mission details."

"Great!" Sasaku nodded, still holding Naruto, "We'll complete the mission faster then you can say-"

"GO!" Tsunade yelled. Naruto and Sasaku stood for a second before saluting, saying "Yes mam!" and running off.

*************************

"Why did you say she was a huge help?" Naruto asked, "All she did was get captured!" Sasaku smacked his forehead, then ran his hand back through his hair as he winked at two girls sitting on a bench. The giggled and began whispering to each other. "Because," he said, "this is my excuse to at least get her name!"

They walked through town, until they reached the front gate. There stood the girl, her silky black hair flowing in the breeze. She walked up to the two of them. There was a red line going horizontally across her throat. "Hello," she said, "I never got to properly thank you. My name is Uindo Karei." Beautiful Wind.

_To be continued..._


	7. Dodging Pigs

Sasuke stared out the window. What was so special about this Sasaku kid? He had beat Sasuke like he was nothing. Sasuke gripped his pants. He needed to become more powerful. He couldn't beat Sasaku! How the heck was he supposed to beat Itachi? He needed training. Naruto was training with a Sanin, as was Sakura. For a moment, Sasuke considered training with Orochimaru.

He shook off the thought. There was no way. Iruka dismissed the class. Sasuke walked down the hall toward the Hokage office. He was planning on asking to train with either lady Tsunade or Jaraiya. He walked to the office and knocked on the door. "Enter!" said Tsunade from the other side of the door. Sasuke walked in. "Sasuke," she said, "what is it? It is rare you ever visit."

"I need to train!" he said. Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him. "Here me out." Sasauke said flatly, "Naruto is training with Jariya, and Sakura with you. Both of my comrades are training with a Sanin. I wish to train with one! Or maybe someone at a Sanin level!" Tsunade glared at him.

"You've got some nerve to ask that!" she stabbed at him, "I am already training two people, and the relationship between you and Naruto would make it difficult for Jaraiya to train the two of you." Sasuke looked at her. "I'm desperate for this training!" he pleaded. Tsunade sighed. "You sound like you're fighting for a girl." she said, "I think I might know of someone who can help."

Tsunade looked out the window. "He is a sage that lives outside the Leaf Village. He used to live in the Sound Village, but broke all ties with them long ago. He then came to the Third Hokage for help. He pointed the man towards a waterfall. The sage now lives behind it, drinks the water of the river, finds and prepares his own food, and becomes stronger all the time."

Sasuke mulled it all over. "What is his name?" he said. Tsunade smiled.

"Suzaku."

*************************

"Hello, I never got to properly thank you. My name is Uindo Karei." Naruto and Sasaku both gazed in awe. "I'm... uh... I'm..." Sasaku stuttered. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto said, "And this is Enkou Sasaku." Sasaku smiled, "Yeah, that." Karei extended her hand to shake Sasaku's. Sasaku took it trembling.

She then shook Naruto's hand before saying, "Alright, let's go!" She began to leave. "Wait! Go where?" Sasaku said. Karei smiled at him. "You know, for having black hair, you're pretty blonde.*" she said, still smiling, "We are going on the mission." Sasaku blushed and looked at the ground. Normally he would follow the rules of cool, calm, and collected.

"So granny Tsunade didn't fill us in." Naruto said, "What is this mission." Karei turned to him. "There is an accomplice of Mizuki hiding near the border of this country." she said, "He is a C-ranked criminal. But this is a B-ranked mission due to the dangers of getting there." Sasaku looked at her. "So we need to capture him?" Karei shook her head. "Search and destroy." she said. Naruto and Sasaku both stumbled a bit. "Why?" Sasaku asked.

"He is planning on going to the Otokage to give him classified info about the Leaf Village." she said. Naruto growled. "Orochimaru!" he said through clenched teeth. His pace quickened as they leapt from tree to tree. "Naruto! Slow down!" Sasaku called after him. "No way!" Naruto yelled back, "We will stop this guy."

They traveled for about another half-hour. Naruto stopped suddenly. "I gotta go to the bathroom." he said blushing. Sasaku grunted. "Make it quick." he said. Naruto ran off. "Thank you for saving my life." Karei said, "I don't think I would have lived if you hadn't shown up." She then noticed the sword around Sasaku's waist. "You kept Mizuki's sword?" she asked.

Sasaku nodded. "So, then, what did he mean when he said 'Kumori Tora'?" Sasaku gulped. Was he going to tell her? He was about to speak, when there was a scream from where Naruto was. Sasaku looked at Karei, who had already taken off. He followed her. They reached a clearing.

Naruto's pants were around his ankles, and there was a huge boar standing in front of him. Karei shielded her eyes with her hands, and Sasaku began laughing. Naruto turned around to see them. Sasaku drew his sword. The presence of the Kumori Tora filled him. _'I'm only using the sword! I don't want your power!'_ he said to it. The Kumori Tora laughed in his head. _'__**As you wish.**__'_

Sasaku rushed at the boar and slashed its hindquarters. "Fire Style:" he yelled, performing hand signs, "Grand Fireball Jutsu." As Sasaku opened his mouth, fire shot out from it. The boar lit on fire, and the air was filled with the scent of burnt bacon. The fire then went out as the boar fell to the ground with a thud. "Pull up your pants!" Sasaku said, sheathing the sword.

Naruto pulled up his pants and Sasaku walked up to Karei. "You can uncover your eyes now." he said to her. She peeked out between her fingers to check on Naruto. He was walking toward them. She then saw a horde of huge boars running at them. "Naruto! Behind you!" she yelled, pulling out shuriken. She threw them, taking out one of the boars.

Naruto had pulled out two kunai's. Sasaku drew the sword again, but a boar ran into his side, knocking him into a tree. He spat up blood on the ground. "Sasaku!" Karei yelled. The boar ran at her. Sasaku looked at her, hoping the boar would stop. It didn't. Right before it hit her, Karei jumped into the air above the boar, then landed on it, and stabbed it with two kunais. She then jumped off. Sasaku saw a paper bomb on the boar.

It blew up, and the boar was gone. Sasaku ran up next to Naruto, the katana put away, and watched as Karei took on the rest of the boars. She took them out one by one, using only a couple of kunai knifes. Her taijutsu skill was so ferocious, yet beautiful and graceful at the same time. There was only one boar left, and it was twice as big as the other ones. It charged her, and knocked her backwards.

"Karei!" Naruto and Sasaku yelled. Naruto began making hand signs. Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Sheep. "Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto yelled. He bit his thumb and smacked his hand onto the ground. There was a puff of smoke, and everyone was blinded. The smoke cleared, and under Naruto was... a small frog. Naruto glared at it.

"Gamakichi?!?" he yelled, "I wanted Gama Bunta!" The frog crossed his arms. "Well sorry, but pops is busy right now, so I'm here in his place." Naruto growled. Even the boar was staring blankly at Naruto. Naruto made a Shadow Clone. The clone began making the Rasengan in Naruto's hand. The clone disappeared when the Rasengan was completed.

He charged at the boar. When the Rasengan struck, the boar went spinning into the air. It disappeared with a crash into the forest. "Congratulations," came a voice, "you managed to kill all of my pets." Naruto, Karei, and Sasaku looked to see a man standing there. "You must be the ones that were sent to kill me!" said the man, taking a fighting stance.

*************************

Sasuke followed the river until he saw the waterfall. _'That must be where Suzaku is.'_ he thought to himself.

_To be continued..._

_***This is not my view on blondes. I do not think all blondes are idiots. I apologize if anyone was offended by this comment. I'm friends with plenty of smart blondes. I like to make blonde jokes a lot, but I do not believe them. Again, I apologize to all blondes that were offended.**_


	8. Demonpower

Naruto looked at the man confused. "Who are you?" Sasaku asked. The man laughed. "I am Hiro. I broke out of prison with Mizuki." he said. Hiro then looked at the sword Sasaku had. His eyes widened. He then ran at Sasaku with a knife. "GIVE ME THAT SWORD!" he screamed. Sasaku barely got out of the way of the first swipe. The scar across his eye throbbed.

He swore, trying to fight off the pain as Hiro stabbed at him. Sasaku then kicked Hiro in the stomach. Hiro fell backwards. "Why do you want a stupid sword?!?" Naruto asked. Hiro growled. "I don't give a crap about the sword, I just want the demon sealed in it!!!" he yelled, getting up. Naruto fell back, and Karei looked at Sasaku in shock.

Sasaku gripped the sword, and then drew it. _'You can come out now.' _he said to the Kumori Tora. A black aura flowed from the sword as a laughter rang from his head. Hiro swore. He drew his own katana, then smiled. In his head, Sasaku heard the Kumori Tora. _'__**That is the Demon Blade. It has the power to weaken me when used against me!**__' _it said.

Sasaku growled. Hiro lunged at Sasaku. Sasaku parried. The strength that had flooded him seemed to flicker. The blades clashed again, the Kumori Tora getting weaker each time the katanas collided. Sasaku would have to use his own strength to win this. He went at Hiro with everything he had. _'Give me all you've got!'_ he said to the Kumori Tora. _'__**Yes master...**__'_ it replied.

*************************

Sasuke stepped over to the waterfall. There was no way to go around it. He jumped through it. Sopping wet, he was now in a cave. A man with long blonde hair was asleep there. He walked over. Suddenly, there was the tip of a spear on the tip of Sasuke's nose. Fighting back instinct, he stood there.

He looked at the man. No, not a man, a boy about twenty or twenty-one. "What do you want?" the boy asked. Sasuke gulped. "I am Sasuke." he said, "I seek to train with a sage named Suzaku." The boy cocked his head, lowering the spear. "What do you want with me?" he said. Sasuke looked Suzaku over.

"Forget it!" he said, turning to leave, "You're a waste of my time." The next thing Sasuke knew was that he was on his stomach and both his shins hurt. Suzaku had swept his legs back with the spear. "Listen," he said, "you don't come looking for me, find me, then blow me off!" Sasuke looked at him. Suzaku seemed to have a slightly familiar face. "I apologize." Sasuke said, still fighting back instinct, "I need someone as powerful as the Sanin to train with."

Suzaku smiled when he heard this. "Who recommended you to me?" he asked. "Lady Hokage. Tsunade." Sasuke replied. Suzaku broke out into laughter. The laugh also seemed annoyingly familiar. "Tell me," Sasuke said, "have you ever been to the village?" Suzaku sat down, as did Sasuke. "I go to Ichiraku maybe every other week before visiting Tsunade." Suzaku said, Sasuke thinking that he might've seen him in town, "She's trying to convince me to move into the village and join the Anbu, so she makes me come in once every fourteen days at least. The last time I didn't come, well..." He showed Sasuke multiple scars on his thighs.

Sasuke just sat there. "Okay," Suzaku said, "if you want to train with me, you're gonna have to lighten up. Laugh a little. But for now, why don't you tell me about yourself. You got any siblings?" Sasuke went dark. "One." he said, "An older brother." Suzaku laughed. "I've got a younger brother." he said, "I only saw him when he was born, which was maybe thirteen and a half years ago. Don't even know what he's done with himself now."

Sasuke peered at Suzaku. He could not figure this guy out. "My turn to ask a question." he said, "What is your relation to Oto? I hear you are from the sound village." Suzaku looked at him for a moment. "Did that old hag tell you my blood type?!?" he said, ticked off, "I swear, Tsunade thinks that it's okay to go around telling everyone everything about me!"

Sasuke looked in shock. "Sorry for ask-" he began, but Suzaku cut him off. "I'm just messin' with ya!" he said with an ear-to-ear grin that reminded Sasuke of Naruto, "I went there when the nation was just starting out. But when I learned the Otokage was a bloody-" he began to branch into a select variety of curses "-so I left the village. My dream is to one day kill Orochimaru and become the Otokage!"

Now this guy was really starting to sound like Naruto. But Sasuke shook it off. I mean, even Anko reminded people of Naruto! "Well you came at a perfect time." Suzaku said, "I was just getting ready to go get lunch." He got up and walked toward the waterfall, then jumped out. Sasuke followed quickly.

*************************

Naruto couldn't stand and watch anymore. He had just been told of another demon. When he'd discovered Garra's, he didn't know what to think. Now, he didn't either. One of his friends was using a power that took Naruto forever to master. Now Hiro had straight up come out and brought a sword that weakened that demon.

What remained of the Kumori Tora's power shattered. Sasaku was kicked backwards. He slammed into a tree and coughed up blood onto the ground. Naruto lost it. He had so many mixed emotions it caused him to go into a one-tailed state. He ran at Hiro at top speed. Hiro was going to counter with the sword, when Naruto appeared behind Hiro.

Hiro blocked Naruto's slash with his sword. Blood dripped to the ground. Something wasn't right here. Naruto felt significantly less powerful because the sword had directly touched the chakra. He wasn't healing as fast as usual. He became angrier. A second tail sprouted as he leapt at Hiro. A newer, stronger power then flooded him. His palm began to smoke and heal.

His hair grew longer and wilder. His eyes and face markings became more feral. His canine teeth grew much larger. Naruto ran at Hiro again. This time, he landed a punch right on Hiro's cheek. Naruto felt weaker again, but why? Hiro then laughed. "I see, you use a demon to power you." he said, "Unfortunately, as long as I wield this sword, if you touch me, you still loose the power." He put his hand to his cheek, and when he removed it, there was a sphere of Naruto's chakra in his hand. He crushed it.

Now Sasaku was surprised, and Karei fell to her knees. Sasaku ran over to her. "Why am I suddenly hearing so much talk of demons right now? Why didn't you guys tell me?" she asked. "Because," Sasaku answered, "I didn't know what to think of mine, and if I'm right, Naruto is using the Kyubi. That is reason enough to keep it a secret."

They heard Naruto roar. He'd apparently taken two simultaneous slashes from the sword. He began to feel really weak. Then he finally cracked. With another roar, Hiro was sent flying back. He had to use the power Jaraiya had helped him master. A third tail sprouted from the aura. He roared again. As Hiro clung to the ground, the area around him began to clear. Soon, there was nothing there. Naruto ran at Hiro as he braced himself with the sword.

_To be continued..._

**Be cause this is an alternate timeline, Naruto will use moves for the first time at different places in the series. And for those who know what I'm talking about, IT is showing up in the next chapter, not the fight between Naruto and Orochimaru. For those who don't know what the crap I'm talking about, tough crap!**


	9. Let the Training Begin

Sasaku stared in awe. His jaw dropped as he saw the power Naruto had from just one more tail. Naruto slashed towards Hiro, and sent a wave so powerful, it blew away even more trees. Hiro clung to the ground and ran at Naruto with the sword in front of him. The sword seemed to deflect some of the energy.

That truly was a strong sword. It had the power to weaken demons. Neither Sasaku nor Naruto had a chance in this situation. Hiro almost made it to Naruto, when Naruto hit him with a full speed headbutt. Hiro fell back and coughed up blood. Naruto began to wobble a little. _'So,'_ he thought, _'this is what it feels like to not have all of the nine-tailed foxes power.'_

Naruto became even angrier. He created one hundred shadow clones. Each clone doubled over in pain from the immense strength of the fox within Naruto. They began to disappear one at a time, while some were able to land an attack on Hiro before vanishing. Naruto formed the rasengan in one hand. He then ran as fast as he could at Hiro. Then rang out a scream of pain.

*************************

"Aliright, there it is." Suzaku said. Sasuke looked at the small boar that was munching on a bush. That was supposed to be their lunch. Suddenly, the pig looked up into the sky. A huge shadow was right over it. The pig squealed and bolted. Sasuke stood up and began to run after it. A giant boar landed right in front of him. It was already dead, and there were injuries on its underside that went in a swirl.

Sasuke stumbled backwards. Suzaku walked up to the boar. He then knelt by it, bowed his head, and thrust his hands in the air. "Great beast from the heavens!" he said, "I am not worthy to taste of your flesh!" He then looked at Sasuke. "Help me lift this." he said. Sasuke got on one side of it and began to pick it up with Suzaku. With a grunt, Sasuke asked, "Where're we taking this thing." Suzaku laughed. "Who do you think provides Ichiraku with pork?" he said.

Sasuke nearly threw up. He had no idea that every time he ordered the pork deluxe that it had come from wild boars. It was his favorite item on the menu to. The hefted back to the village gate. There they loaded it onto a cart. Suzaku then jumped up and sat on top of the dead carcass. "This is part of your training." he said to Sasuke, "You get to pull the cart." He shot Sasuke another grin as Sasuke groaned.

It was laborious work that required chakra to be applied to Sasukes feet in order to even get enough grip on the ground to move. They slowly made it to Ichiraku, the whole time getting weird looks from the villagers. They finally made it to the resturaunt. Sasuke collapsed where he stood. "Don't get comfortable." Suzaku said, "I'll be right back out."

Sasuke watched as Suzaku went in. A minute later, Suzaku and the restaurant owner walked out. The owner practically melted with joy. He ran back in, then brought out a huge sack full of money, along with a stack of Ichiraku coupons. "Alright Sasuke." Suzaku said, "Now we have to load this into the back." Sasuke groaned. He and Suzaku lifted the pig, then brought it in through the back of Ichiraku. Sasuke then went to the front and collapsed in a chair. He slapped a coupon onto the counter. "One pork deluxe." he said.

Suzaku sat down next to him. "Make that two." he said. The owner laid two steaming bowls of ramen in front of them. "Enjoy." he said. Sasuke didn't care where the meat came from anymore. After all that work, he just needed something. He began eating with a slight haste. Suzaku just watched Sasuke, eating his meal slowly.

Once they were both done, Suzaku gave Sasuke about a quarter of the money. "Go wild." he said. Sasuke looked at it, then at Suzaku. "You've earned it." he said, "Meet back here in one hour." Sasuke nodded. "Thank you." he said. He then ran off. For some reason, he wanted to see Sakura, but he couldn't place his tongue on it. It could be he just wanted to see a friendly face.

Suzaku walked down the street. He was going to see lady Hokage. He walked down the hall to her office. He then knocked on the door. "Enter!" Tsunade yelled. He opened the door to see Tsunade with her feet on the desk. "Suzaku?" she said, "I thought you still had another week."

Suzaku laughed. "Yeah, but I had to come into town." he said, "I just wanted to let you know that I have not changed my mind. I will still keep residence outside the village." Tsunade just looked at him. "Anything else?" she asked. "Yes." Suzaku answered. There was silence for a minute. "Well what is it?" Tsundae asked impatiently. Suzaku smiled. "You see, before you only asked if there was anything else, not what it was." he said, pulling a groan from Tsunade.

"I want some training missions for me and Sasuke." he said, "I was thinking maybe a couple of A-rank missions." Tsunade sighed. "I'll give you one. That should cover about a month." Suzaku smiled. "We'll be done in a week!" he said. Tsunade groaned again. "Alright," she said, "here's the mission..."

*************************

Sasaku stared at the sight he saw. Naruto let out another scream of pain. Hiro had stuck the sword through the right side of Narutos chest and into a tree. Narutos head drooped. Hiro laughed as he pulled the sword out of his chest. The aura was still around Naruto. Sasaku watched as Hiro laughed and slowly made his way towards him and Karei.

He needed to run, but there wouldn't be any point if Hiro could chase them. He needed a distraction so he could grab Karei and hide. He then saw Naruto struggle to stand up. The hole in his chest was perfectly sealed. He let out a roar that sent a beam of energy into the air. Hiro turned around to see.

Before he knew what he was doing, Sasaku had grabbed Karei by the shirt and pulled her up into a tree. Hiro looked back and swore. Naruto then sprouted a fourth tail. Naruto could no longer be seen, just a blood red aura that seemed to radiate bloodlust. Inside Narutos mind, he crossed the barrier separating him and the fox. The fox now had total control.

Naruto charged at Hiro. Hiro screamed as he was ripped in two. Naruto let out another roar at Hiros remains. They were completely obliterated. Sasaku jumped down and grabbed the sword. The power that previously left him returned. "Good job Naruto!" he said. Naruto growled in response. That was not a good sign.

_To be continued..._


	10. Fourth Tail

**WARNING: SASUSAKU MOMENT AHEAD. APPROACH WITH EXTREME CAUTION. I REPEAT, PROOF THAT THIS FANFIC ISN'T NARUSASU OR SASUNARU IS AHEAD. APROACH WITH EXTREME CAUTION, AND DEAL WITH IT. ENJOY READING.**

Sasuke walked down the street. Had spending just three hours with Suzaku already made a change in him? Why did he want to see someone he knew? His whole life, Sasuke knew nothing but pain and hatred. He lived everyday training with the urge to kill his brother. But now, that was distant. This Suzaku was something else. He then saw Sakura walking across the street.

"Hey Sakura." he called. She turned. "Oh, Sasuke, I didn't see you." she replied. She smiled as they walked towards each other. "I didn't see you after class." Sakura said, "Where were you?"

"I'm going to be training outside the village now." Sasuke explained.

"Oh..." she said, her head drooping. Sasuke saw this, then said, "Don't worry, I'll be back in the village every two weeks." Sakura seemed to lighten at this, but still seemed slightly disappointed. Sasuke thought for a second, then smiled. "Wait here." he said to Sakura, running off. Sakura wondered what it was about.

A few minutes later, Sasuke came back. He was hiding something behind him. Sakura gasped when Sasuke revealed a beautiful purple flower. "I-i-" she stuttered, but Sasuke shushed her with a finger to her lips. "I want you to remember me every time you see this. Can you promise me that?" he said with a smile. Sakura nodded. She was almost crying of joy.

"But why Sasuke?" she asked. "I don't know," he answered, "I guess I need someone to look foreword to seeing when I come back." Sasuke and Sakuras faces moved closer, as if they were about to kiss. Suddenly, Sasuke was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and dragged off at a high speed. "Bye!" Sakura yelled waving, "Good luck with the training!" She then took the flower and ran towards her home. Sasuke looked up the see Suzaku dragging him.

"I told you _**one hour**_!" Suzaku said. Sasuke glared at him. "Why you retarted little son of a-!" he began, but was dragged over a huge rock in the road. "Oops..." Suzaku said sarcastically. He then let go of Sasuke by the opposite entrance to the village. "Where are we going?" Sasuke asked. Suzaku laughed and said, "Back to the waterfall."

"Umm, hate to break it to you," Sasuke said, "but the waterfall's that way." He pointed towards the direction opposite the rear entrance. "I want you to race me there." Suzaku said, holding out a kunai, "You must place a kunai knife into the tree growing above the waterfall before I do. You get a ten minute head start."

Sasuke cocked his head at Suzaku. "Isn't ten minutes a little-"

"Go!"

"Wait but I-"

"GO!"

Sasuke took off running through the village. He wondered how this was training if it wouldn't even be a challenge.

*************************

Naruto growled at Sasaku. He then got worried that Naruto no longer had control. Karei then jumped from the tree. "Karei," he said, "I don't think Naruto is okay." he grasped the Demon Sword in one hand, and the Kumori Tora in the other. Naruto then jumped at Sasaku. He blocked his attacks with the two swords. It stopped his attack completely.

_'What's going on?'_ Sasaku asked the Kumori Tora, _'Hiro tried the same thing with just one sword and it failed miserably.'_ He heard a dark laughter in his head. _'__**When used against a demon, the Demon Sword weakens them.**__'_ the Kumori Tora answered, _'__**When a demon works with the sword, both of them increase in power. In this case, because you wield me and the Demon Sword together, both of the swords are at double their usual power.**__'_

Sasaku flung Naruto backwards, causing little damage, but draining his energy. _'What do you mean when you talk about the swords power?'_ Sasaku asked. The Kumori Tora laughed again. _'__**Foolish boy.**__'_ it said, _'__**When a sword is crafted, it then receives a soul. That soul is the cause of the power within a weapon.**__'_ Sasaku thought he understood what it was talking about.

Naruto let out a roar. Sasaku held the swords in front of him, deflecting most of the energy. Karei was knocked back against a tree, knocking her out. "KAREI!" Sasaku yelled. Naruto came at Sasaku at full speed. Sasaku, still holding the sword, punched him in the face. Naruto jumped onto the top of a tree about 200 meters away. Sasaku jumped onto another treetop. He then looked and saw burns on where the skin of his fingers left the glove. This wasn't any ordinary chakra.

Naruto held his hand out, and a sphere of energy formed. He then swallowed it. Sasaku gulped. This couldn't end well. Then he shot a huge beam of energy at Sasaku from his mouth. The energy was obliterating everything in its path. Sasaku quickly sheathed the sword and made rapid hand signs. The Chidori formed in his right hand. He then formed the Rasengan in his left.

"Ultima Blast!!!" Sasaku yelled smashing his hands together. The blast of rainbow energy struck the blast Naruto made, the two energies canceling each other out. There was a huge explosion and tons of smoke was made. Sasaku looked at the ball of smoke floating in the air. He then swore when Naruto jumped at him through the smoke.

He drew his swords then jumped over Naruto. Sasaku then hacked off one of the chakra tails. Sasaku stared in amazement as he landed on a tree. Naruto's aura began to fade completely. There were burns all over his body. He ran over as Naruto fell to his knees. "That's the last time I ever do that." he said, then he quickly looked up worried, "Is Karei okay?"

Sasaku and Naruto ran over to Karei. The two let out a sigh of relief. She seemed to be fine. Sasaku wrapped up a cut on her arm. It was the only bad one they could see, but was still kind of deep. "So what kind of power was that you were using?" Sasaku asked. Naruto looked down. "Right after my umbilical cord was cut," he said, "the Kyubii was sealed in me by the fourth Hokage. What about you?"

Sasaku smirked. "This sword," he said holding out the Kumori Tora, "has a demon sealed inside it that must listen to the swords wielder." Naruto laughed. "Man," he said, "I wish the fox would listen to me!" Both of them began to laugh. They stopped when they saw Karei waking up. They watched as her eyes slowly fluttered open.

She looked from one of them to the other. "Could you not get so close?" she said. It was then they realized they were only inches from her face. They both fell backwards blushing. "So what happened?" Karei asked, "All I remember was Hiro showing up. The rest is completely blank." Sasaku and Naruto looked at each other. They remained the only ones who knew about the other ones demon.

"Hiro... attacked you and knocked you out." Naruto lied. Karei then stood up. "Could you two hold on for a minute?" she asked. The two boys nodded and Karei stood up and said "Don't follow me." over her shoulder as she left. Once she was gone, Sasaku turned to Naruto. "'Attacked you and knocked you out'?" he said, "I could have thought of something better!" Naruto laughed.

"If there's one thing I've learned," he said, "it's that if you make a story more complicated, it's easier to tell you're lying." Sasaku began to think about that as he slumped against a tree. Then they waited for Karei...

*************************

It had been ten minutes and Sasuke could already see the waterfall. _'That fool Suzaku underestimated me.' _he thought. Suddenly, and out of nowhere, Suzaku was next to Sasuke. "Later!" he said, running in front of Sasuke. The only way Sasuke could win... he threw the kunai at the tree. It went by Suzaku's head. Suddenly, Suzaku rocketed upwards at light speed past the kunai and tagged the tree.

"I win!" he said with a dorky little smile.

_To be continued..._


	11. 2 Signs of the Apocalypse

Sasaku and Naruto had been waiting for nearly twenty minutes. "Gah!" Naruto yelled, "What the crap is taking that girl so long?!?" Sasaku smirked. "If you ask me," he said, "a girl that beautiful can take all the time she wants." He then slumped back against a tree and closed his eyes. "Well, I guess that you could still say that when she obviously likes someone else." Naruto said. Sasaku bolted upright. "Who?" he said. Naruto stuck a thumb to his chest and grinned.

Sasaku broke out into laughter. "Man," he said between laughed, "Karei is so out of your league it's not even funny!" Naruto glared at him. "So why are you laughing?" he asked seriously. Sasaku then replied, "Because it's hilarious to watch you try." Naruto smiled. "Hey, my league is above your league in both looks and personality!" he said with a grin, "I have a better chance with her then you do!"

Sasaku stood up and smiled. "You wont be better in the looks department when I'm done with you." he said. Naruto then recoiled with, "If I didn't have a face I'd still be better in the looks department." Sasaku drew one of the swords. "That can be arranged..." he said threateningly. They just stood glaring for another ten minutes. "I'm back." rang a voice from behind the trees. Sasaku quickly sheathed the sword and slumped against a tree in an attempt to look cool.

Karei walked out from the forest. "What took you so long?" Naruto asked in the nicest tone possible. Karei looked at Naruto. "I had some huge scrapes on my upper thigh and lower back that I needed to wash off." she replied. Sasaku made a worried look as she said this. "Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded, and then said, holding out her wrist, "Thanks for the bandage by the way."

"No problem." Sasaku smiled. Karei began to walk off, when Sasaku and Naruto both asked, "Where are you going?" Karei sighed. "I'm heading back to the village to turn in the mission." she said bluntly, "Jeez, you guys are both acting blonde as heck.*" Naruto and Sasaku slumped and began to follow her back to the village.

*************************

Sasuke stared at Suzaku. How in hell did he make it there so quickly? "You cheated, didn't you?" Sasuke accused. Suzaku smirked. "Didn't your old sensei ever teach you to search for hidden meanings?" he answered with another question, "I said to put **A** kunai into the tree, not specifically the one I gave you. I have a similar ability to the fourth Hokage. He had kunai that he went to at extremely high speeds as lightning (or something like that). My kunai are similar, except I use wind."

Sasuke nodded. "But why not use lightning as well?" Suzaku looked at Sasuke with a how-the-crap-don't-you-know-this look. "Every ninja has two of the five elements inside them." Suzaku said, "These two elements are a ninjas advantage in battle. From looking at the way you fight, I would say your elements are fire and lightning. Mine are wind and fire. Now these two elements are divided into main and sub elements.

"This means that that one main element is far more powerful than the sub element. That sub element is also much more powerful than the supplementary elements, or the ones that come through training alone. Now, it's rare for anyone to actually be born with the element, as most develop it over time. However, some elements will run through the family if it is common between the two who gave the child. For example, the fire element seems to run through your Uchiha bloodline."

Sasuke looked at Suzaku. How the crap did he know Sasukes family name. He decided to ignore it and think of what he'd been told. This whole time he'd been practicing using fire, and now he realized that this was his strong point. This was perfect. Suzaku yawned. Sasuke then noticed the sun setting. He was pretty tired from that run. Suzaku then stepped on a rock and the waterfall split. Sasuke and him jumped through the split. They then lay down and fell asleep.

*************************

Sasaku walked alongside Karei, laughing and talking with her. He looked back to see Naruto sulking angrily. "Hey," Sasaku said, "are you doing anything next Saturday?" Narutos face turned red from anger as he imagined himself strangling Sasaku and kicking his butt. Karei looked at Sasaku. They stood there for a minute locked in eye contact before saying; "You don't have a chance." very bluntly. She then winked before skipping ahead.

Sasaku stood there staring, Naruto just as amazed as him. "Does that mean no?" Sasaku called. Naruto pounded the back of his head. Karei turned around. "We'll talk when you become a better would-be date." she said with a smile. Sasaku sagged and Karei began skipping happily along. Sasaku swore at how hot she was then turned to Naruto. "I got shot down by her when I saved her life." he said to Naruto, "You don't have a chance." Naruto wished he even thought Sasaku was wrong, but he'd heard talk around the village that he'd taken Sasukes place on the charm scale.

They slowly made their way back to the village. When they got into Konoha, Karei turned to Sasaku and Naruto. "You two can go home now." she said, "I'll turn in the mission report." The two nodded, still bummed out. "Well," Naruto said, "I still have a chance with Sakura." They then saw Sakura skipping past with a beautiful purple flower in her hand. She then noticed Naruto and Sasaku and waved. They waved back. She trotted over to them.

"I heard about the mission." Sakura said, "How'd it go." Sasaku looked up at her. "It went great." he said with a smile. Naruto looked at the flower. "Who gave you that?" he asked.

"Oh, this," said Sakura, nuzzling it against her cheek, "Sasuke did." Naruto and Sasaku both almost collapsed. What the heck was going on here? Sakura trotted happily off. Both Naruto and Sasaku smacked each other across the face, with the same idea in mind. It wasn't a dream. A girl had turned down Sasaku for the first time in fifteen years (and he's fourteen years old) and Sasuke gave Sakura a flower. Sasaku and Naruto dragged their feet back to the apartment complex. Suddenly, Naruto seemed to gain confidence. "That's it!" he said, "I know how to win Karei over." Sasaku shot Naruto a look of disgust. What hair-brained scheme did he have in store for tomorrow?

_To be continued..._

_***This is not my view on blondes. I do not think all blondes are idiots. I apologize if anyone was offended by this comment. I'm friends with plenty of smart blondes. I like to make blonde jokes a lot, but I do not believe them. Again, I apologize to all blondes that were offended.**_


	12. Another Day, Another wtf

**No one knows the time period in which Naruto takes place. I believe that it takes place in the present. My reasoning behind this is the following three things: headsets, refrigerators, and the giant computer screen from the Chunnin exams. As you will see shortly, there will be some items from the current time.**

Sasaku sluggishly made his way out of bed and to the door. He still couldn't believe what happened yesterday. He still had his chance though. Karei had told him that she'd be coming to the Academy class now. Another new student, and this one was a HAW-T. He sighed as he locked his door. Naruto opened his door, and Sasaku's jaw dropped as he walked out. Naruto stood there in a black leather biker outfit, with the headband tied around him like a sash under the jacket. On his head was a pair of sunglasses.

"Sup Sasaku." Naruto said, pulling the glasses over his eyes. Sasaku just stared wide-eyed as Naruto walked away. He wasn't kidding when he said he was trying to impress Karei. Today in class would be sparring matches between all the students. Sasaku would have to be matched up with Naruto to show him up. But then that would mean that he'd be taking on the weakest one in the class. He thought hard. It couldn't be Sasuke because he left for training. It had to be Neji!

Sasaku could probably beat him easily. He smiled as he picked up some rice balls for breakfast. He then walked towards the academy. Two girls just suddenly walked up to him. He didn't know either of them. "You're Sasaku, right?" one of them asked. Sasaku smiled and nodded. "Then tell us," the other one said, "if you had to pick one of us to go out with, and couldn't got out with the other, which would it be?" Sasaku looked at both of them and thought for a moment.

"I would probably ask a friend to come and one of you would pretend he was your date." he said with a smile. The two girls giggled. "Thank you." the first one said. The two ran off to a third girl. Sasaku could have sworn he heard one of them say, "Wow, Rika was right." Rika was probably one of the many girls he was able to impress with a wink and a smile. He walked to the academy, and inside, there was everyone but Chouji (who'd called in sick) and Naruto. _'Probably planning some big entrance.'_ Sasaku thought to himself.

He took a seat next to an empty chair. Iruka looked up. "Time to begin." he said, "First thing's first. There is another new student. Come in!" The door opened and Karei stepped through. "Hello." she said, "I am Uindo Karei." Every boy stared at Karei blankly. Sasaku sighed; she was like the girl version of him. She then looked around. "What are you all staring at?" she asked. All the boys turned away blushing and doing other things to cover that fact.

Karei groaned and sat in the seat next to Sasaku. "Here's your pay for yesterday." she said handing him a small stack of cash. "Thanks." Sasaku said, taking the money. It was more then he expected, especially for a B-ranked mission. Then again, it was search and destroy for a man with the possibility of spilling info to Oto. "Now, we will start with the sparring..." Iruka said, looking around, "Where's Naruto?" A pillar of smoke dropped from the ceiling, then spread throughout the classroom. Everyone began to cough. When the smoke cleared, Naruto was standing on the desk in the front of the room.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" he said, lifting his shades, "At your service!" Sasaku looked over and almost saw hearts in Sakura, Ino, and TenTen's eyes. Hinata was blushing like crazy, almost afraid to look at him. Karei looked him over. _'This kid is something else.'_ she thought, _'I might actually give him a chance.'_ Naruto jumped off the desk and into the seat next to Karei. "Sup!" he said, causing her to giggle. Sasakus eyes fired up with rage. Karei then gave him his pay from yesterday.

"As I was saying..." Iruka said. Sasaku was shocked. That was the kind of thing that would usually make Naruto stay after. "Today we will be sparring other members of the class." Iruka continued, "For those of you that participated, this will be similar to the Chunnin exam prelims. They will be one on one, and one at a time." Sasaku smiled. "Can we request whom we fight with?" he asked. Iruka nodded. "You will challenge someone, then sign your names on the list of fighters. Find your partners now."

Everyone stood up and began talking to everyone else. Sasaku walked up to Neji. "Neji," he said, "I challenge you!" Neji smirked. "I accept." he said. He then stared into Sasakus eyes. "Interesting..." he said to himself. _'Usually I can see someone's destiny from his or her eyes. His is different, and seems as if it has yet to be decided.'_ Everyone began to sign up for the fights. Neji knew that this fight would be much different.

*************************

Sasauke woke up to the smell of smoke. He got up and had a very poorly cooked bird thrust in his face. "Eat up!" Suzaku said, "We have a long day ahead." Sasuke rubbed his eyes. "What are you talking about?" he yawned. Suzaku laughed. "We've got an A-ranked, a B-ranked, and two C-ranked missions to complete in a week!" he said, his smile never fading. Sasuke looked at Suzaku like he just killed someone. "Did Tsunade actually assign us all of that?!?" he asked.

Suzaku laughed. "Just the A-ranked, but I stole the other three documents because they were on the way." Sasuke groaned as he took a bite. "What are they?" he asked. Suzaku reached into his pack and pulled out four scrolls. He opened them and began to read them. "The two C-ranks and B-Rank are little missions where we destroy little rouge encampments. The B-rank one is first, then the C-rank ones. Then for the A-rank, it's a bounty hunter type thing. The man is wanted dead in the Village Hidden Among Stones."

"Who do we want to kill?" Sasuke asked. Suzaku looked back at the scroll. "He was once one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist." he said, "His name is Raiga."

_To be continued..._


	13. The BIG Move

**Please note: in the following fights to come, there would normally be more taunting, flashbacks, and conversations with themselves then there would be fighting. I don't believe in excessiveness of that crap, therefore, the fight will be what it should be, not drama, not long time rivals duking it out between monologues, just fighting. As well as that, I don't believe in pointless, overly repeated ties. Hope you enjoy.**** ; )**

Sasuke and Suzaku were leaping from tree to tree. "Tell me," Sasuke said, "why do we have to finish two months worth of assignments in a week?" Suzaku looked at Sasuke with piercing eyes. "Because," he said, "training is supposed to be a challenge." Sasuke groaned. These missions would be the death of him. They approached the first destination spot. The B-ranked encampment. Suzaku smiled. The encampment was about the size of a small town.

He handed Sasuke five kunai knifes. They were the same ones that were used for his wind teleportation technique. "Take these and place them about fifty meters away from each other around the encampment." Suzaku said. Sasuke nodded. He and Suzaku began jumping around the encampment, throwing the knifes every fifty meters. They met on the opposite side of the camp. "Get higher into the tree so you can see." Suzaku said, then in a serious tone, "Make sure you hold on tight. The last time I did this an innocent bystander was killed."

Sasuke nodded. He jumped onto a branch where he could see the entire camp. He saw Suzaku standing at one of the kunai points. A blast of wind ran through the camp and he appeared at another one. He began going faster and faster in random directions. The wind began to take shape into a sphere. Suzaku then put his chakra into the wind. As Sasuke looked, it appeared to be a giant Rasengan. "Hurricane Rasengan!" Suzaku yelled. The orb turned blue and began to spin as a massive ball of chakra. Screams of pain could be heard all over camp as tents, bodies and blood swirled in the giant Rasengan.

Sasuke stared in amazement as he clung to the tree. The Hurricane Rasengan was sucking things into it. Sasuke was almost one of them. If he were to go in there, the winds would tear him apart. The attack cleared and Suzaku stood in the middle of the crater that was made. The camp was completely destroyed. Tents, pieces of people, and mostly blood coated the ground. Suzakus hair was standing like a huge blonde Afro. His black shirt and shorts were slightly tattered on the ends.

Sasuke jumped down from the tree. Suzaku began teleporting to all the kunais, picking them up along the way. He had picked up the last one in front of the tree right as Sasuke reached the ground. Suzaku smiled, then asked, "How was my little move there?" Sasuke looked past him at the camp, and all the corpses on the ground. "That is a very strong move." he said bluntly. Suzaku smiled. "Come on." he said, "There's another camp in about twelve miles." They both took off through the trees again.

*************************

Iruka stood in front of the twelve students. It was a shame Chouji wasn't there. But, he'd been to an all-you-can-eat buffet last night, so of course he couldn't come. "Now," Iruka said, "before we begin, I want to tell you how these matches will be special." Everyone looked at him blankly. Then everyone looked towards Naruto. When there was something that no one understood, Naruto was always the first to ask about it. He stayed quiet, keeping his hands in the jacket pockets. "What's special about these matches?" Shikamaru finally said.

Iruka cleared his throught. "The two combatants will come up with handicaps for their opponents." he said, "And then they will agree on a condition for winning." Sasaku looked at Neji. He was a Hyuga, therefore he had the Byakugan. _'I know what I'll do!'_ Sasaku thought, _'The handicap for him will be that he must leave on the Byakugan. Then to win will be whoever loses the Byakugan first.'_ Sasaku could either use one eye or the other instead of the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako. That would make it a battle of whose Byakugan is sharper.

"The first match is..."said Iruka, looking down at the list, "Sakura vs. Ino." The tempurature seemed to drop. The intense rivalry between the two would make this an interesting fight. Naruto wondered which one had challenged the other. Since Sasaku was new, he didn't understand why it was totally quiet while they waited for the two to go onto the field. It was the same place Sasaku and Sasuke fought. "What are your conditions?" Iruka asked the two.

"Sakura can't use medical ninjutsu on herself." Ino said. Sakura laughed. "Is that all?" she said, "Ino may not use her mind transfer." Iruka nodded. "And the condition for winning?" he said. Sakura and Ino both thought. "First person to touch the fence surrounding the arena." Ino said. Sakura nodded in agreement. "Then..." Iruka started, waiting for a few moments to create tension, "BEGIN!" Sakura and Ino both rammed at each other.

Their fists struck each other and the sound of knuckles cracking rang through the air. The two began hammering away at each other, both standing on equal terms. Ino finally landed a blow on Sakuras face, sending her backwards. Ino leapt at her, and Sakura threw a load of shuriken at Ino. Ino took the blows and blood trickled down her arms. She then pulled out a kunai and tried to stab Sakura, who rolled out of the way.

Sakura stood up, but stumbled, and Ino threw the kunai into Sakuras leg. She let out a small cry of pain as she pulled out the kunai. Her back was almost against the fence. Ino charged at her, ready to punch. She jabbed, and Sakura ducked under it. A clang rang out as Ino hit the fence. "Ummm..." Iruka said, "Sakura wins." Ino looked at Sakura. "Good fight," she said, "but I'll win the next one." Sakura grinned at Ino. "Don't count on it." she said.

They both walked out of the arena. Everyone ran up to them and began congratulating and praising them as a man came and cleaned up the mess that was made by the fight. When he was done, Iruka looked at everyone. "Okay then," he said, "the next match will be..."

_To be continued..._


	14. Second Fight

**I just realized that this story is inaccurate due to Shikamaru being a Gennin, but I guess that's the glory of having an alternate timeline as an excuse for a place to put your story.**

"Now, the next fight will be between Kiba and Tenten." Iruka stated. The two quickly made it into the arena. This would definitely be an interesting fight, considering the two didn't know each other personally. They were the kind of pairing that was made from being the only two left. "Kiba isn't allowed to use his dog." said Tenten. Kiba sighed as he put Akamaru outside the arena. "Stay here boy." he said to it, then he turned to Tenten, "You're not allowed to move." Everyone began to mutter that that was too cruel a handicap.

Tenten smiled. "Alright," she said, drawing a circle in the dirt in the center of the arena, "if you can move me from this circle without getting hit by one of my weapons, you win." Everyone looked in shock at her. Kiba was probably the most skilled at dodging moves. "I accept." Kiba answered with a smile, not remembering her attack specialty at the Chunnin exams and the first day of Gennin school. Iruka looked at the both of them. "BEGIN!" he said. Kiba jumped at Tenten. She instantly threw a handful of kunai at him.

He dodged easily, and then she threw more at him while he was in the air. He swore, not being able to move out of the way. He was barely able to move out of the way. When he landed, he ran at Tenten. She pulled out one of her attack scrolls. She then pulled out every kind of weapon and threw it at Kiba. He looked at all the weapons, then swore loudly as they all came at him. He narrowly avoided a huge variety of knifes, maces, flails, and shuriken.

The attacks stopped as the blank scroll fell in the dirt. Kiba laughed and ran at Tenten at full speed. She did nothing to stop the punch from hitting her face, knocking her backwards out of the circle. "Yeah!" Kiba yelled, "I did it! I won!" Tenten smiled at him, then he saw her looking at his hand. There was a small cut in his finger that had been made by a knife. He then looked back and saw a small puddle of blood where he'd been standing while he was dodging. He looked down in disappointment. "Way to go Tenten!" Lee yelled.

Kiba swore as he walked out of the arena and picked up Akamaru. All these battles were making Sasaku eager to go against Neji. Naruto walked up to Kiba. "Go going." he said. Kiba looked at Naruto in confusion. "What?" he said, "That's it? No stupid comment about how lame my defeat was?" Naruto appeared to be straining. People were almost beginning to miss the cocky and annoying Naruto, and it had only been a few hours. Naruto finally cracked. "THAT WAS PATHETIC!!!" he said laughing like crazy, "YOU LOST BECAUSE YOU GOT ONE LITTLE CUT IN YOUR FINGER!!!" Kiba shot him a look, but in all honesty, that was something everyone wanted to hear from him.

"Now," Iruka stated, "the next match will be with Hinata and Karei." Sasakus eyes widened. This would probably be a battle of the most graceful attacks to ever be seen. Hinatas Gentle Fist style was the Hyugas definition of beautiful, yet Karei was able to take out all of those boars with such skillful movements that everyone would be in awe. All the boys shifted their feet and watched at Karei went into the arena. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Sasaku gulped. Now he thought she even looked out of his league. He looked to see Naruto panting with his tongue out.

Karei looked at Hinata. "You're a Hyuga, right?" she said, getting a nod from Hinata, "You can't use from the Byakugan." That would be hard for Hinata, considering that the entire Gentle Fist style was based off that Doujutsu. "O-okay." Hinata replied, "Um, then y-you can't use weapons." Karei nodded. She then said, "First that is unable to fight loses." Hinata nodded. Iruka looked at them both. All the guys hearts skipped a beat as he said, "BEGIN!"

*************************

Sasuke and Suzaku were at the next camp. It was just a small band of about six or seven rouges. "You can handle this one on your own." Suzaku said. Sasuke looked at him, his eye twitching. "What?" he asked. Suzaku picked up a long straight stick and a kunai and began sharpening it. "It's part of your training." Suzaku said, "If you're done before I am," he held up the stick "I'll get the last one." Sasuke growled, then jumped at the camp.

He snuck up behind one of the rouges. Before the man knew it, Sasuke had slit his throat. He then jumped back into the shadows as two men saw and ran over. They turned over the still bleeding man and saw a paper bomb on his stomach. It blew up the three men, alerting the other four. Sasuke smiled and jumped into the air. "Look! There!" one of the men shouted, pointing at Sasuke. Sasuke weaved hand signs. "Fire Style:" he yelled, "Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Flames shot from his mouth and burned the four men and the camp.

Screams of pain rang out and Sasuke jumped back to Suzaku. He in the middle of making another cut. "Done." Sasuke said. Suzaku looked up at him with a glare as he finished the final cut. The spear was completely smooth; a solid white in color, and the tip was as sharp as a metal spear. "Let's go then." Suzaku said, standing up. Sasuke nodded, and they took off again. The next camp was about eighteen kilometers up.

_To be continued..._

**The following note is a conversation that my assistant writer and I had during P.E. when we were discussing the Raiga mission. I will be using the names of the characters that I modeled after us in the story (I'm Sasaku and he's Suzaku).**

**Sasaku: I've got it! The training mission could be that one with Raiga!**

**Suzaku: Wasn't that one already done?**

**Sasaku: *shakes head* Alternate timeline remember?**

**Suzaku: Oh yeah. Tell me though, was that even a mission, or just everyone going to a curry shop with Lee.**

**Sasaku: *thinks for a second* Naw, it was a mission. Why else would Naruto be with Lee's group?**

**Suzaku: Lol! Good point.**

***silence***

**Sasaku: In fact, why would Lee's group be with Lee?!?**

**Suzaku: *laughing hysterically* Dude! That's horrible and demeaning! I like it!**

***both laugh hysterically***

**Yes, I said that! Get over it! Just a little note, the characters do slightly represent me and him, except Sasaku looks different and I couldn't get a girl to save my life (for those who were wondering, I am single! XD) Suzaku represents my friend in every way possible, as you will see later in the series. WAY later. I'm talking like "plot twist time" later.**

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**I've said to much. Read+Review!**


	15. The Gennin Fights

Karei instantly jumped at Hinata. Hinata ducked under a punch, then palmed Karei in the stomach. It didn't hurt as much without the Byakugan as a guide, but Hinata was able to apply the chakra into the attacks that usually went into the Byakugan. Karei doubled over for a second, then came at Hinata with another attack. Hinata gracefully sidestepped that one and hit the arm. Sasaku and Naruto both watched in awe, as did the rest of the boys.

"You're pretty good." Karei said as she came in with a kick. Hinata knocked down the kick, but was then punched across the face. She stumbled back, and Karei went in with another move. Hinata used her gentle fist to parry the punch, then landed a punch of her own. Karei was thrown onto her back as the band keeping her hair in a ponytail fell off. The chakra Hinata used for the Gentle Fist instinctively went into the punch. It had devastating effects.

Karei slowly stood up. Her hair was draped over her shoulders. She wiped blood dripping from her mouth. All the boys seemed to cringe at this. Sasaku looked around, then groaned. Karei went in for another blow, but Hinata sidestepped and punched Karei in the stomach. She fell to the ground in pain. She then slowly got up. "I surrender." she said. Everyone looked at her in surprise, especially Sasaku and Naruto. They'd seen her fight. It was completely unknown to them how strong Hinata was.

Karei walked up to Hinata. "Good fight." she said, "You're an amazing Kunoichi." Hinata looked at the ground and shifted her feet. "Thank you." she said, "You're... a really good fighter too." Karei exited, and all the boys surrounded her. Naruto was about to too, when Sasaku grabbed the back of his jacket. "Hey! What's the big idea?" he yelled, "Let me go!" Sasaku shot him a look. "Why don't we go congratulate the winner?" he said, pointing to Hinata. Naruto quit struggling, then nodded.

The two walked over to Hinata. She was getting a drink of water. "Hey, good match." Naruto said. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard his voice. When she turned around and saw him, she blushed and looked down at the ground. "Th-th-thank you." she said. Sasaku noticed something odd. "Yeah," he said, "that was an amazing fight." She smiled nervously. "Thanks." she said. She didn't stutter when she spoke to him. Either she was really comfortable around Sasaku, or she liked Naruto.

"So, I'm facing your cousin." Sasaku said, "Hope you don't mind me kicking his butt." Hinata gave a quiet laugh. "Good luck." she said, "To both of you." Naruto grinned at her and she blushed as she smiled. "Later." Naruto said as he walked away towards the group around Karei. Hinata looked down. "He likes her too, doesn't he?" she asked Sasaku. He looked at her, and then nodded slightly. "You like him too," he asked, "don't you?" Hinatas face turned bright red. "It's okay." Sasaku continued, "I wont tell."

Hinata looked at the ground. "Do you want him to like you before you confess it?" he asked her, getting a nod in reply, "Then I might be able to help you." She looked up at him. "All you got to do is be more confident around him." Sasaku continued, "Compliment him on things he does. Make him hear you. And show him the true you." Hinata looked at Sasaku, then nodded with a smile. "Thank you." she softly said, running back over. "Alright," Iruka said, "time for the next match. This one will be Lee vs. Naruto."

Naruto grinned wildly. Rock Lee hurried into the ring, shortly followed by Naruto. Lee turned to Naruto. "I do not require my opponent to have a handicap." he said. Naruto growled. "Fine!" he yelled, "You can't use your arms! First one to be hit in the groin loses!" Everyone looked at Naruto weirdly for the absurdity of his winning conditions. "Fine." Lee said, "I accept." Sasaku looked nervously at Naruto. _'What have you gotten yourself into this time?'_ he thought, knowing that this match couldn't possibly end well.

Iruka fidgeted as he looked between Naruto and Lee. Naruto looked as if he was ready to kill, and Lee stood with his hands behind his back. "BEGIN!" Iruka yelled. Instantly, a scream of pain rang out from the field. Everyone shuddered as Lee walked off the field and Naruto was doubled over on the ground. Shikamaru walked over and dragged a squealing Naruto out of the arena. Iruka had to suppress laughter. Kiba and Ino, however, just laughed and pointed as Shikamaru leaned Naruto against the wall.

"The next match will be," Iruka announced, "will be Shikamaru vs. Shino." Shikamaru sighed as he stood up. "What a pain." he said. Shino was totally silent as he walked onto the field. Shikamaru followed promptly. "As a handicap," Shikamaru began, "you're not allowed to use any bugs." Shino looked at him through his black glasses. "You may not use your shadow possession." he said blandly. Sasaku looked between the two. It was the bored vs. the boring. He sighed and went and kneeled by Naruto.

"Naruto, you may have lost," he said, "but at least you lost... who am I kidding? That was frigin hilarious!!!" Naruto growled as he tried to punch Sasaku, but he'd already gone back to see the fight. It had begun. The fight was a "first to show blood loses" match. Shino was on one side of the arena on his back, and Shikamaru was in his thinking position. Just as Shino began to rise, Shikamaru threw a ton of shuriken at him. He dodged and threw a kunai. Shikamaru countered with eight kunai. One blocked the other one and the other seven went on.

Shino dodged by jumping into the air. Shikamaru waved his arm, and Shino didn't see what he threw until it was too late. The senbon needle went into his arm, and some blood spilled onto the ground. Shikamaru had won. It was a simple strategy. Throw tons of items he could see, then one he couldn't. "Yeah! Good job Shikamaru!" Ino yelled. He walked out, as did Shino. Shino just used one of his bugs to begin tending the wound. _'What a freak!'_ Sasaku thought.

Naruto began to rise up from the ground. "Alright," he said, "I think I'm better." Sasaku laughed before a sudden realization. The last match was next. His match. "The next match is," Iruka said, "Sasaku vs. Neji." The two walked into the arena. Neji looked over Sasaku. "You will leave your katanas outside the arena." Sasaku shrugged as he handed them to Naruto. Inside his head, the Kumori Tora and Kyubi were able to converse. "You must have your Byakugan on throughout the fight!" Sasaku said, getting looks of shock from everyone, "And the loser will be the one who loses their Byakugan first!"

Everyone looked at Sasaku. "You have the Byakugan?" Neji asked with shock.

_To be continued..._


	16. Byakugan vs Byakugan

Everyone looked at Sasaku in shock. "You-" Neji stuttered, "You have the Byakugan?" Sasaku smiled. "It's my lineage." he said, "I've traced my mothers side back to the Uchiha. My father goes back to the Hyuga. Neither the Sharingan nor the Byakugan showed up from my past family until me. The power from the two Kekkei Genkai formed to create the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako. But today, I will restrict myself to only using the Byakugan."

Iruka looked between the two. They both nodded to him. "BEGIN!" Iruka yelled. Instantly, Sasaku and Neji turned on their Byakugan. They then began going at each other with the gentle fist style. Both of their attacks hit the other ones, causing no damage to either of them. Then, they both struck a chakra point in the others right shoulder. The two of them stumbled backwards. Sasaku then threw four kunai, but Neji used the eight trigrams palm rotation. Sasaku then launched himself at Neji. Neji parried a punch, then came in with a palm heel.

Sasaku jumped out of the way. The two stood panting. Then they each took similar fighting stances. They then came at each other with the Eight Trigrams, 64 Palms. Every time they came in for a hit, they would knock away the others. After the sixty-four hits, they took another stance and went in with 128 Palms. Again, in the rapid succession of these next sixty-four strikes, the other countered each one. After these, Neji stopped. That was the farthest anyone had ever gone in history with the palm techniques. Until now.

Sasaku took a stance that naturally followed the last one. He didn't know how he did it, but he came in with another one hundred twenty-eight strikes. Nejis chakra points were blocked, and the final blow sent him flying into the surrounding fence. "Eight Trigams," Sasaku said, "256 Palms." Neji was on the ground panting. It was as if he'd taken the 128 Palm strikes in the first place. Sasaku walked over to Neji. His Byakugan was down. The fight was over. "You okay?" Sasaku asked.

Neji sat back. "When you've just had one hundred and twenty-eight of your chakra points blocked," he said, "it's hard to say." Sasaku put his hands in the sign of the sheep. His hands glowed with chakra. "I've developed a technique to unblock the chakra points." he said, "If you'll hold still..." Sasaku began lightly pressing his fingers where he had struck the points. With his Byakugan up, he could see the chakra slowly begin to flow again.

Once he was finished, his hands stopped glowing, and his Byakugan faded. He'd used up a lot of chakra in that fight. "That was a great victory." Neji said, "If my destiny was to lose, then so be it. However, I would like to know if you could show me the 256 palms sometime." Sasaku smiled. "I'd be glad to," he said, "but be warned: it uses the amount of chakra that it would take to perform 128 palms twice." Neji smiled as he stood. "I think I'm up to it." he said.

Everyone was staring at Sasaku silently as the two walked out. "Class dismissed." Iruka said. All of the students began to disperse. Sasaku walked up to Naruto.

"Race you to the apartment." he said.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"GO!" Sasaku took off at top speed. Naruto growled as he took off. Sasaku was looking as Naruto came after him. He came to a sudden stop when he realized something. Sasaku took off back towards the arena, straight past Naruto. Naruto looked back in wonder. A minute later, Sasaku had caught back up with Naruto, the two swords dangling at his side. "Why didn't you keep these on you?!?" Sasaku asked angrily.

"Because," Naruto said, "the Kumori Tora and the Kyubi started talking inside my head. I was like I had a gate on two sides of me. If I didn't get power from one, I got it from the other. And the two began to fight over the other sword for more power. If I hadn't put the two swords down, I could have been taken over by one of the demons." Sasaku looked down. He hadn't thought about how the two swords would affect Naruto. They both kept jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

"I was really weird," Naruto said, "almost as if the Kyubi and the Kumori Tora knew each other." Sasaku looked up. "I have an idea!" he said. He then grabbed Naruto and the two disappeared. Naruto looked around and they were standing in front of Sasakus door. "How'd you do that?" Naruto said. Sasaku fumbled for his keys, then said, "You pretty much just throw your chakra to a place you want to go and your body follows." He unlocked the door and motioned for Naruto to follow.

*************************

"Let's stop here for the night." Suzaku said. They'd been traveling for almost three hours. The sun was low in the sky. "Why don't we take out the last camp before sundown?" Sasuke asked. Suzaku scratched his face and blushed. "To be honest," he said, "I didn't think you'd make the last one in time. That Hurricane Rasengan takes a lot out of me. I need to rest for the night before the next camp." Sasuke nodded as he put his pack down. It was the end of the first day, and two of the missions had been completed.

"Why exactly do we need to take out this Raiga guy?" Sasuke asked. Suzaku pulled out the scroll. "He's running some kind of slave-run gold mine." he said, looking at the scroll, "It seems he's been burying his victims alive. He is so strong that no one has dared to stand up to him. Except a select few, but they've all been buried alive. He's been torturing the Stone village for some time now. Konoha just now got the help message." Suzaku then yawned and fell asleep right there. Sasuke lie down and fell asleep aswell.

_To be continued..._

**Do you like the story so far? Well, surprisingly, my high school leaves me with a lot of free time. Enough free time, in fact, that if you need help curing writers block, just PM me, and I'll try to read your story and supply you with ideas. Ideas start at $4.99 a month. XD Just joking. PM if you want help though.**


	17. Demon Story Time

Sasaku turned to look to Naruto. "I think I might know a way for us to have direct contact with each others deamons." he said, shutting the door. Naruto gave him a strange look. "What will that accomplish?" he asked. Sasaku thought for a minute. "You and I might be able to get the Kyubi to listen to you." he replied, "On top of that, we may be able to find out if the Kumori Tora and the Kyubi actually knew each other."

"How the heck do you suppose we do that?" Naruto asked. Sasaku grasped the handle of the Kumori Tora, then set aside the Demon Sword. He then motioned for Naruto to grab the handle as well. Naruto reached for it, slowly making his way to grab it. The moment he touched it, the two boys fell into a black void. There were four presences, two of which were behind gates. One of the gates was sealed shut. The other one already had a key in the lock. It only needed to be turned.

Naruto and Sasaku looked at the two gates. The Kumori Tora appeared behind the gate with the key, and the Kyubi behind the gate with the seal. The fox and the tiger snarled at each other. Naruto turned to Sasaku. "I think that we're in each others minds." Sasaku said. Naruto nodded. He had no idea how this had happened. Sasaku, however, seemed to know exactly what was going on. Outside their minds, Naruto loosened his grip on the sword. The gates spread farther apart. Naruto noticed this.

He tightened his grip and the Kyubi's gate moved closer. "This is beyond strange..." Naruto said. Sasaku walked up to the Kumori Tora. "Is it true that you know the Kyubi?" he confidently asked. The tiger snarled. "**I have the unfortunate pleasure to have done battle with him on multiple occasions.**" it hissed. The Kyubi steped foreword, snikering. "**Yes. The ten demons that were born in the underworld all had a different number of tails, along with a different goal in life.**" it said, "**Both mine and his were the same, to be the most powerful being in the world.**"

Sasaku gulped. "So what happened?" he asked. The two demons laughed. "**All ten demons split into two sides.**" the Kumori Tora said, "**I was on a side of my own, against the other nine demons. I was a match against all the others. Their combined strength wasn't enough to beat me. That's when the Kyubi thought of a jutsu. This jutsu separated me from nine of my tales, and spread them across the continent. To preserve my last tail, I sealed myself in the sword.**"

"**That was a very difficult jutsu.**" the Kyubi said, "**All of the other demons needed a human host in order to survive after that. I was the only one that didn't. However, I was brought into the mortal world, in which I was to prove that I was the ultimate being. But I was bound into this boy!**" he pointed at Naruto, "**Now I am no better than any of the other demons.**" Outside, Sasaku accidentally put his hand on the Demon Sword. Back in their minds, a shining black light appeared in Sasakus hands. The Kumori Tora and the Kyubi tried to break free of their bonds.

"**GIVE ME THAT POWER!!!!!**" they both screamed. Both boys let go of both swords. They then sat gasping on Sasakus floor. The two swords lay on the ground. Sasaku picked them up, and then set them in a case. He held out a hand to help Naruto up. Naruto grasped it, then looked at Sasaku. "Let's not do that again any time soon." he said. Sasaku pulled him to his feet. "I'll see you tommorow." he said. Naruto nodded and walked out. Sasaku was gonna have a really hard time sleeping tonight.

*************************

Sasuke woke up with a start. Something didn't feel right. It was dark, and Suzaku was gone. Sasuke looked around. There was a noise from behind him. He turned around, but couldn't see a thing. It was to dang dark. He then stood up and turned on his Sharingan. Everything got brighter. It was still dark, but at least he could see. When he looked for the noise, he saw a pack of wolves. Sasuke gulped, and the wolves turned towards him. They growled at him, and he drew a kunai.

The entire pack then charged him. Sasuke yelped as one clung onto his leg. He beat it off, just to have another one tackle him to the ground. Now it was harder for him to see. He'd gotten dirt in his eyes when he fell. His eyes watered as he tried to rub the dirt out of them. He could feel blood dripping down his leg. The wolves became excited and hungry. They all pounced at him. Sasuke could barely see. He had to think of something fast.

Sasuke began weaving hand signs. "Fire Style:" he yelled, "Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Tons of fireballs shot from Sasukes mouth, getting about half of the pack. He could now see the wolves. They were burning on the ground, howling in pain. All but one had either run off or died. He was the biggest of the pack. Sasuke felt the teeth marks in his leg. _'I can't go on like this...'_ he thought. Suddenly, a screech rang out of the sky. A falcon dropped from the sky and began pecking away at the wolf. The wolf snarled and snapped its teeth at it.

The falcon whipped around to the backside of the wolf and began tearing its flesh with its talons. The wolf howled, then ran off as well. The bird landed on the ground, then began pecking the dirt. Sasuke crawled over to it. The falcon was black, with a white streak going down its sides, and a light brown one down its back. The falcon looked up at Sasuke, then screeched again. Sasuke held out his arm, as if to pet the bird. It jumped onto it. Sasuke stood up, then looked at the falcon on his arm. The falcon then jumped up and hovered in the air in front of Sasuke.

Sasuke looked to see something in its talon. He put his hand under the bird, and it dropped a small wooden whistle with a string on it, along with a note. It read: 'Call me in your time of need.' The falcon landed on Sasukes shoulder, then screeched before taking off again. Sasuke stared after it. After it was long gone, Sasuke heard, "What are you doing up?" He turned around to see Suzaku. "Where were you?" Sasuke asked. Suzaku scratched the back of his head. "Takin' a leak." he said, "Now go back to bed, the sun will rise in a few hours." Sasuke nodded as he put the whistle around his neck and went to sleep.

_To be continued..._


	18. Attempted Talent

Suzakus eyes fluttered open. He stretched and noticed that his energy that he'd lost from the Hurricane Rasengan had returned. Today, he'd have to take out the third encampment. He then noticed that Sasuke was still asleep. He then saw the blood and some of the wolf carcasses. _'I'm going to have to ask Sasuke about that.'_ he thought. He walked into the woods to meditate. He sat down and went into a trance. He'd do this every morning in order to have extra chakra stored in reserve.

Sasuke sat up in the sleeping bag. When he saw that Suzaku was gone, he knew where Suzaku was. He'd always meditate right after he woke up. Sasuke looked around. He decided he needed to clean up the blood and bodies of the wolves. He began to crawl out of the sleeping bag, but his leg was stuck. He tore his leg out and yelled as the scab covering his leg ripped off. It began to bleed again. He swore at himself for forgetting to bandage it last night.

He quickly put gauze around his leg, then put on the thing that he keeps on his leg (I don't know what it's called, its just those things around his shins). Sasuke then put his arm things on (again, don't know what they're called, they just go on his forearms), and made a fire. Then he began to clean the camp as the fire began to catch the wood. About an hour later, Sasuke had finished cleaning the camp and was cooking eggs over the fire. Suzaku then walked back into camp.

"Hey, Sasuke," he said, "what was with the mess this morning?" Sasuke flipped the eggs. "While you were 'taking a leak'," he said, "I got attacked by a pack of wolves, then saved by a falcon." Suzaku began laughing. "You expect me to believe that?!?" he said. Sasuke reached around his neck and blew the whistle. The whistle let out one loud pitch. A screech could be heard, and the falcon from before came and landed on Sasukes shoulder.

Suzakus eyes widened. "I think I'll call him Taka." Sasuke said to Suzaku. Taka let out another screech. Sasuke smiled and stroked its head. "Interesting..." Suzaku said. He then walked over and kicked a tree. A huge chunk of the tree fell out. Suzaku then picked up the chunk and began carving it. "What say we walk to the next camp." he said. Sasuke nodded, then looked questioningly at the chunk of wood. They began walking. As they walked, the wood began to take shape. It was rounded, and about an hour later, it looked like and ocarina.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke finally asked. Suzaku took the object and punctured some holes into it. "I'm making something for you." he said, "It will work much better then that crappy whistle you've got there. Not only that, but music is a good skill to learn." Sasuke nodded. So this was something better than the whistle to use to call Taka. Suzaku then held the ocarina in front of him on his palm. There were holes in it, but they led to a wooden center. Suzaku then stopped walking and closed his eyes. After a moment, he yelled, "Rasengan!"

The ocarina remained in perfect place, but sawdust soon began ejecting from the holes in the ocarina. "I want you to use the whistle until you learn to play this." Suzaku said. Taka cocked his head and looked at the ocarina. He then looked at Sasuke. His eyes almost said, "If you can play this, I will come." Sasuke nodded and grabbed the ocarina. He then put it to his mouth and it let out a beautiful note. Suzaku smiled, then said, "Stay here and see if you can get the hang of it." Sasuke nodded and Suzaku jumped into a tree and ran off.

Sasuke blew a few notes, and then he heard an explosion, screams of pain, cries of rage, an intense fire crackling, and four more explosions. The air then smelled heavy of baked fruit and smoke. Suzaku then jumped back into view with a black sooty face and a slightly burnt sleeve. Sasuke was about to speak, when Suzaku held up a hand for silence. "The last paper bomb was on a shorter timer then the other four." he said. Sasuke nodded, then turned to Taka. The falcon was almost snickering. Sasuke laughed and got a dirty look from Suzaku. They took off again towards the gold mine.

*************************

Sasaku sat back in his chair. Iruka was lecturing on how to focus your chakra into higher caliber ninjutsu. "Now," he said, "if Naruto doesn't mind, I'd like him to demonstrate a very high caliber ninjutsu." He looked towards Naruto, who nodded profusely. He then jumped down and made a hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he yelled, creating four shadow clones. "Now, a trick that is difficult to master in this jutsu that Naruto has," Iruka continued, "is not only making them flesh and blood clones, but also evenly distributing your chakra in them.

"Each of you will attempt to produce at least one Shadow Clone, then have it land an attack on one of Narutos clones." Naruto turned to Iruka. "That's fine I guess." he said, "But they won't be attacking me, right?" Iruka leaned over to Naruto. "Just between you and me," he whispered, "I doubt any of them will be able to pull this off." Naruto nodded. "Now, everyone in a line." Iruka said. All the students except Lee got into the line. Sasaku almost asked him why before remembering what Naruto told him.

Karei went first. She made the hand sign and closed he eyes. After a minute, she opened her eyes. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" she yelled. One clone appeared. It wobbled slightly, then came in and punched one of Narutos clones. The clone just stumbled backwards, and only Kareis disappeared. Kiba walked up next. He made a very bad clone that disappeared right after it was made. Chouji, Ino, Sakura, and Shino came next. Not one of them could even make one.

Then Hinata stepped foreword. She produced a perfect clone, surprising everyone. However, she was reluctant to attack the Naruto clone. She then remembered what Sasaku had said. The clone came in and landed a palm heel on the clone. The clone flew back into the wall before disappearing. Naruto stared at her in awe. The clone blushed and disappeared as Hinata ran back to her seat.

The rest of the attempts were complete crap-outs. Sasaku then stepped foreword for his turn. Now he could try to impress Karei by showing up Naruto in his best jutsu. He made the hand sign, then yelled, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Nothing happened. Sasaku tried to laugh. "Just joking." he said, "Just joking." Everyone began to laugh quietly. He took a stance and made the sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he yelled. Nothing. Sasaku blushed as he waddled back to his seat. At least the weekend was almost here.

_To be continued..._


	19. Uchiha Talent

Sasuke and Suzaku kept on jumping between trees. The sun was low in the sky, which was bright orange and pink. "Let's stop here." Sasuke said. They'd been traveling for a few hours since they had lunch. But he wasn't tired; he wanted to get some practice with the ocarina. Suzaku nodded and they jumped to the ground. Suzaku then dropped his bag into the dirt and jumped off again. Sasuke smiled. "Follow him and make sure he doesn't get into trouble." he said to Taka.

Taka looked at Sasuke, then flapped off of his shoulder after Suzaku. He was bound to run into some dangerous animal while trying to find dinner. He sat back and looked at the ocarina. He blew a note. It was a perfect, clear, crisp note. He played another one. It flowed perfectly after the last one. Then he blew another one that didn't flow as great. He frowned, and then blew all the notes. He recognized all the different pitches and began to put them together. He took out a blank scroll, and began playing different notes and scribbling down what sounded best.

After about twenty minutes, Sasuke had completed a beautiful sounding verse. He began to play it, when Taka flew from the bushes. Sasuke smiled and continued playing. The ocarina did work like the whistle. Suzaku then walked from the bushes. On his back was a bush with tons of berries on it. He had seven squirrels hanging limp on his spear. "You're doing well." Suzaku said with a smile, "And you're already writing your first piece." Sasuke removed the ocarina from his mouth. "Thank you," he said, "but I can't think of a name for it."

"Typical." Suzaku said bluntly, "If you can't think of a name, use what inspired you to write it as a part of a name." Sasuke thought for a minute as Suzaku put firewood down and did a jutsu to light it. Sasuke thought; _'What inspired me...? No, who inspired me.'_ Sasuke quickly scribbled something onto the scroll. "What'd you name it?" Suzaku asked, grinning. Sasuke looked up and smiled. "I named it:" he said, "_The Cherry Blossom Blooms_." He wrote down a few more notes and continued playing.

*************************

Sakura walked into her room and flopped onto the bed. She then looked at the violet flower by her bed. It was closed, but it would open again at sunset. _'Come back soon Sasuke.'_ she thought. She then looked at her photo of her, Sasuke, and Naruto. She smiled as the flower opened. Then she just lay in her bed, wondering what her teammates were doing.

*************************

Naruto laughed at Sasaku the whole way back to the apartment. He failed miserably, even when Naruto had given him tons of pointers three days ago. Sasaku tried to look at the bright side. At least tomorrow was Friday. Sasaku walked into his own apartment. He closed the door, which instantly blocked out Narutos laughter. _'__**You could have done that jutsu with my help.**__'_ the Kumori Tora said in Sasakus head. _'I might not always have you.'_ Sasaku replied, _'I don't want to get used to relying on your power.'_ Sasaku set down the swords into the case. Then his doorbell rang.

Sasaku slugged over to the door and looked out the peephole. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Karei standing there. He slicked his hair back his hair and opened the door. Karei looked supprised to see him. "Sasaku?" she said, "What are you doing here?" Sasaku looked at her confused. "I live here." he said, "Why are you here?" She looked at Sasaku oddly. "I'm here for my date with Naruto." she said. Sasaku was shattered. He pointed towards Narutos door sluggishly. "Thanks." Karei said with a smile.

Sasaku shut his door and looked through the peephole again. He saw Karei ring Narutos doorbell, then standing there. A little while later, Naruto came out, slipping a jacket on. Sasaku could here their muffled speech, then they walked off. Sasaku slumped against the door. She wasn't kidding. Then he got an evil grin on his face. He would follow them and do what he could to ruin the date, killing Narutos chances. He slowly walked out the door, then quietly shut it.

Sasaku jumped from rooftop to rooftop, making sure to keep an eye on the two. They were walking down the street, just talking. "It's kind of cold out here, huh?" Karei said, holding her arms closer to her body. Sasaku growled as Naruto put an arm around her, putting his jacket over her. She giggled, and Sasaku started planning ways to ruin the date. The only thing that blocked him was that he had no idea what they were doing. They kept walking and talking, and Sasaku kept following.

Naruto and Karei finally walked into a restaurant. Sasaku knew what he was doing now. He grinned as he jumped onto the roof. He then dropped in through one of the vents. The restaurant had a high roof with multiple wooden beams Sasaku could hide on. He then watched as Naruto and Karei were seated. There was one thing he knew he had to do first. He created a shadow clone (why could he suddenly do it know?) and sent it off. The clone jumped from roof to roof, until it saw what is was looking for. It jumped to the ground and casually began walking.

The clone then bumped into Chouji. "Oh, hey Chouji," it said, "I didn't see you."

"Hey Sasaku." Chouji replied. The clone made a look like it just remembered something, then reached into his pocket. "Hey, Chouji, I've got something for you." he said, pulling out a coupon for the restaurant Naruto and Karei were at, "I want to give this to you. I'd of used it myself, but it expires today." Chouji stared at the coupon like it was a ticket to heaven. One free dinner at the buffet. "Thank you!" Chouji said, running off. The clone smiled and undid the jutsu.

Sasaku watched as Naruto walked to the buffet table, then came back with two plates. Then he felt the jutsu be undone. _'So,'_ he thought, _'the clone succeeded.'_ Sasaku grinned wildly as he saw Chouji walk in. Chouji flashed the coupon, then went in to get a table. That's when he saw Naruto and Karei. Part one of ruined date had just begun.

_To be continued..._

**Most of you are probably wondering how the crap Naruto got a date with Karei. Let's put it this way: she doesn't know him, and the most she's noticed is his fighting and his wannabe cool act...**


	20. Disaster Date

"Naruto! Karei! What are you two doing here?" Chouji said with a smile as he waddled over towards them. Naruto looked up in horror as Karei turned and smiled. "Hi," Karei said. "um... Chouji, right?" He nodded as he pulled a chair up to their table. Naruto looked at him. _'Great, fat boy will mess up everything!'_ he thought. Sasaku knew Chouji would only stay a little while, but that would be enough time for him to really come up with a plan. He pulled a laxative from his pocket. He just needed a chance to slip it in Narutos food.

Chouji began loudly conversing with Karei as he stuffed his face. This disgusted both Karei and Naruto. Chouji began digging into a drumstick. "Um, Naruto," Karei began, "could you show me where the bathrooms are?" Naruto nodded as he quickly took the hint and got up. They walked around a wall. Sasaku couldn't see them anymore. This was the perfect opportunity. He took the laxative powder and opened the bag. He carefully aimed it over Narutos drink. He dumped it right as Chouji jumped up to go back to the buffet. Sasaku used a small wind jutsu to get to powder in, and a water jutsu to stir it.

"Chouji is making this really awkward." Karei said. Naruto nodded. "Hold on," he said, "I've got a plan. I just need you to go into the bathroom for a few minutes." Karei cocked her head and looked at him questioningly, but went into the bathroom anyways. Sasaku was leaning against one of the beams resting when he saw Naruto come back into view. He saw Naruto then reach into his pocket and pull out four little bags. They were the same laxative powder Sasaku'd just dumped into Narutos drink. He ripped them open one at a time and dumped them into Choujis glass. Sasaku couldn't help but chuckle quietly as he poured in the third one.

Naruto pulled open the fourth one and turned around to see if Chouji was coming. He then saw the fat tub-o-lard making his way over. Naruto panicked and accidentally poured the powder into Kareis glass. Sasaku suppressed laughter as Naruto began to panic. He then decided it'd be best for him to switch his glass with Kareis. Sasaku had to slap a tag over his mouth to prevent him from laughing and blowing his cover. No matter what happened, Naruto wasn't going to drink the laxative, but Karei would.

Chouji sat down and began to wolf down his food. He then started choking. He clutched his throat as Naruto quickly handed him his glass of water. Chouji gulped it all down, then gasped in relief. Naruto starred at him for a few seconds before he said, "Gotta use the john!" and bolted. Naruto immediately dumped all of Choujis stuff at a different table. Karei came back soon after. "Did you get rid of him?" Karei asked. Naruto smiled and nodded. "Yep!" he said, "It's how I got my title of Konohas #1 ma-" He stopped instantly. He was about to say Konohas #1 maverick ninja. Like that would impress her. "Never mind!" he quickly said before spooning some soup into his mouth.

Karei stared at him as she quietly sipped her water. After a while, she said, "I have to use the restroom." Naruto nodded as she stood. "Take your time." he said. Sasaku then had a great idea. When Naruto looked outside the window, Sasaku dropped the leftover laxative bag onto the table. Karei then came back after about ten minutes. "Sorry about that." she said as she sat back down. She then looked down and picked up the laxative bag. "What is this?" Karei said.

Naruto looked at the packet in horror. "A way to get rid of Chouji." he nervously replied. Karei slammed it onto the table. "And why the crap were you carrying these around?!?" she demanded angrily. Naruto looked at the ground as he tried to come up with an excuse. "Look, I used them to get rid of Chouji and accidentally spilled some in your water." he finally said, "But I thought I switched waters with you so I'd get the laxative one." Karei cracked her knuckles. Naruto swore he saw the eyes of Sakura after Konohamaru had called her ugly.

"You're a practical joker." Karei said. When Naruto didn't reply, she stormed out of the restaurant. Sasaku barely did anything, and he got the show of his life. Naruto hung his head in shame. He then slowly made his way out of the restaurant. Sasaku had succeeded, and now the most likely bachelor for Karei was he. Before he jumped back out of the restaurant, something caught his eye. He saw Chouji walk out of the bathroom, clutch his stomach, then run back in. Sasaku let out a smirk as he jumped back to his apartment. Time to get some sleep.

*************************

The moon was straight up in the sky. Sasuke was still working on the melody. It had lulled both Suzaku and Taka into a deep sleep. He scribbled a last couple of notes, and then rolled up the scroll. He had finished. Now he wanted to finish the mission. He couldn't wait to play it for Sakura. He looked at the full moon, bright and shining, then dozed off into a restful sleep.

_To be continued..._

**I apologize to those of you who didn't like that chapter because of what I did to Chouji. For those of you who liked the chapter for that reason: YOU ARE THE KIND OF PEOPLE THAT MAKE LIFE WORTH LIVING!!! Let me put it to you this way; I have a fair amount of friends. Out of them, about five of them like Naruto. The rest think the show was made for fags, by fags, and pronounce it nay-roo-tow (which really bugs me). Out of them, I don't know how many of them dislike Chouji as much as me. However, I'm looking for someone who also agrees that Chouji is fat, gay, and more pointless then Rock Lee.**

**P.S. I will bag on Lee a lot too, but that guy is freakin' awesome, so if I do say anything, it's out of respect for Kishimoto-sama's original premise for the character of Lee: someone to make fun of. XD**


	21. Raigas Rage

Suzaku opened his eyes. He looked over at Sasuke. He was fast asleep, with a scroll lying next to him. Suzaku picked up the scroll. _'So, he finished the melody...'_ he thought. He began looking at the notes and playing them in his head. He was surprised as he moved further in. Even though no music was actually playing, the notes and the song seemed to tell a story. _The Cherry Blossom Blooms_ truly was an interesting piece. Sasuke had a natural talent for this. Suzaku had heard rumors that some could apply chakra to music, which did certain things. Suzaku put down the scroll and went into the forest for his morning meditation.

About an hour later, he came back and saw Sasuke just barely waking up. Taka was also gone, probably off hunting. Sasuke blinked a few times, then said, "I guess I overslept." Suzaku smiled at him. "You deserve the rest." he replied, "Now hurry and come on. We're finishing the mission today and getting back to Konoha by noon tomorrow. Sasuke got out of the bag and rolled it up. He then ate a handful of leftover berries and they took off.

They traveled for a few hours. "You know," Sasuke said, "I never got your last name. What is it?" Suzaku looked down as if trying to consider whether or not he'd tell Sasuke. "My name is Tsubahi Suzaku." he finally said. It meant spitfire. The two continued traveling when it suddenly came into view. The gold mine that Raiga was in control of. "You free the workers," Suzaku said, "I'll kill Raiga." Sasuke nodded. He went off to see the workers. There were no guards around, and Raiga was nowhere in sight. Sasuke wondered why they were still there. He snuck up behind a bush as one of the workers came close.

"Hey." Sasuke whispered. The man went on with his business and made no notion he'd heard Sasuke. "Gather everyone together," Sasuke continued, "we're making an escape." The man went on with his business, but opened his mouth, making it look like he was working. "I can't." the man said, "Raiga will find everyone and give them a funeral." Sasuke needed to try harder. "My accomplice is going to kill Raiga." he said, "There's no need to worry." The man continued working. "You don't understand," he replied, "no one here will leave until they see Raigas head separate from his body!"

The man bustled off. Sasuke frowned. Looks like he had to help Suzaku. Sasuke spotted him behind the building in which Raiga was. He sped over there. "No one is going to leave until they see Raigas corpse." Sasuke said. Suzaku nodded and stuck a wad of paper bombs onto the corner. He then jumped far away. Sasukes eye twitched at the sheer number of paper bombs. He then leapt off after Suzaku. The building exploded violently. The two came back to see the wreckage. All the workers were looking up at the building. They began cheering when they saw Sasuke and Suzaku. Something was wrong though. Suzaku still felt a presence somewhere underneath the rubble.

That was when the rubble began to move. The workers saw this and ran in fear. Sasuke swore. Now they'd have to fight him. Raiga came out with a roar. "Who did this?!?" he screamed through a bloody face. He then saw just Sasuke and Suzaku. He pulled out two swords and storm clouds began to form at an exceedingly fast rate. Lightning started hitting the ground as Raiga held the swords up. Then one came shooting strait at Suzaku and Sasuke. They both jumped out of the way just in time. "Leave this fight to me." Suzaku said, darkly serious. Sasuke nodded, and backed into the forest to watch. Suzaku made then the sign of the tiger. "Ninja Art:" Suzaku said, "Fan the Flames!"

Nothing happened. Sasuke looked in wonder, trying to think of what kind of jutsu had no effect. Unless it was genjutsu. It wasn't. Raiga jumped at Suzaku like normal, electricity jumping from the swords. Suzaku pulled out his wooden spear. He thrust it at Raiga and stabbed some of it into him. The spear then caught fire. Raiga screamed in pain as he hit Suzaku with the butt of one of the small swords. Suzaku stumbled back as Raiga crushed the spear with his hand.

Suzaku then jumped into the air. Without even making a sign, Suzaku unleashed a Dragon Fire Jutsu. This was twice as big as normal, and the flame was blue. It struck Raiga dead on. The smoke cleared and Raiga stood there with his swords in front of him. The lightning had apparently deflected the fire. Suzaku wasn't fazed, and came in with a Grand Fireball Jutsu, again without a single sign. The fire was blue as well. This one burned Raiga harshly. He stumbled back, and Suzaku was behind him. He hammered down on Raiga with a downward hook to the head.

Raiga went strait for the ground when Suzaku kicked him into the air. Suzaku then made the sign of the tiger again, this time for an attack. Sasuke could tell this would be an intense one because he had to make a sign this time. "Fire Style:" Suzaku yelled, "Blaze of Glory!" A white flame shot from Suzakus mouth. Sasuke recognized the move as one of the most powerful fire style attacks there was. He had used it when he fought Haku over a year ago. The attack hit so fast there wasn't even a scream. When the fire faded, there was no trace of Raiga. Suzaku wasn't even panting when Sasuke walked over.

His face was still dead serious. Right before Sasuke asked, Suzaku said, "Fan the Flames, a ninjutsu that doubles the power of any fire attack." he turned to Sasuke and smiled, "Is that what you were going to ask?" Sasuke nodded and turned to see one of the workers walking back towards them. "You can go home now." Suzaku said, "Raiga is gone." The boy was slightly older then Sasaku. He was tall and had orange-brown hair. "My name is Ishimaru," he said, "and I want you two to help me become a ninja." Suzaku smiled and closed his eyes. "Fight him first." he said pointing to Sasuke, "Then we'll see."

Sasuke looked in shock at Suzaku. "Sensei, must I?" he said. Suzaku eyed him, which told Sasuke yes. "Alright, I'll do it." Ishimaru said, "Don't hold back!" Sasuke and Ishimaru both took fighting stances. Sasuke had no idea what he was in for.

_To be continued..._


	22. Ishimarus Strength

"And so, in conclusion, it would seem that in the Land of Fire, ironically, fire style ninjutsu are predominant. Then lightning style ninjutsu seem to appear the least." Iruka was lecturing about advanced chakra types and the most and least common. A few people were bored out of their skulls, and one was praying for a second chance (you know which one and what about). The rest were intrigued though. This lesson seemed to be informative and powerful. Sasaku had already known that his main element was lightning, and his sub-element was fire. Now he was finding out drastic things about himself.

"Now, about jutsus," Iruka continued, "different jutsu types are strong and weak against other jutsu types. Starting with fire, fire is strong against wind. In fact, wind moves strengthen fire moves. Lucky for the guy whose two elements are wind and fire huh? Then, wind is good against lightning. Lightning beats earth, earth beats water, and water beats fire. This chain is the basis for power on this continent.

"Now, there have been rumors going around of certain people with two chakra types that may form into one. These new chakra types break the chain of power. One of these combos is wind and water, which creates an ice style jutsu. Next up is fire and earth, which creates lava techniques. Then earth and water are used to create wood. The wood attacks are the rarest of them all, the only one I know of is the first Hokage." Iruka finished with the lesson and the class was dismissed. As Naruto walked out, he realized he still didn't have a sub-element.

He clenched his fist. _'Looks like wind is all I've currently got...'_ he thought to himself. Then he immediately resolved to get a second element. _'Water!'_ he thought, _'I'm gonna train in water style techniques!'_ He set off to go train with Jaraiya. Sasaku watched as Naruto ran off. He smirked and decided he'd go for a stroll around town, since it was the beginning of the weekend.

*************************

Sasuke inhaled. Ishimaru grinned. "You may go first." he said. Sasuke laughed. "Big mistake." he leapt at Ishimaru and came in with a punch. Ishimaru dodged it, then Sasuke kicked him in the face. Ishimaru stumbled backwards, then made the sign of the snake. Sasuke was confused. This guy looked as if he had no training, yet he was about to use a jutsu. "Earth Style:" Ishimaru yelled, "Earth Manipulation!" The ground began to rumble. Sasuke had to do something fast. He weaved hand seals. "Fire Style:" he called out, "Fireball Jutsu!" A flame shot from Sasukes mouth towards Ishimaru.

A wall of earth jumped up and stopped the fire. It then launched at Sasuke. Sasuke jumped right over it. Ishimaru waved his arms up and back. Sasuke turned around and saw the earth flying towards him. He swore as the earth pounded into Sasukes stomach. He landed right at Ishimarus feet. Then his body turned into a log, a substitution. Ishimaru saw Sasuke dive out of a tree and threw more of the earth at him. "To slow." Ishimaru heard from behind him. He turned around and saw a huge fist before he was thrown back. He caught himself with the earth. The techniques seemed similar to that of Garras, the way his hands moved and the earth followed. Ishimaru was probably capable of the same kind of destruction.

"Like my technique?" Ishimaru taunted, "It allows me to use the earth around me as any shield or weapon of my choice. I can make it as hard or soft as I want. And because earth is my main element, it hardly costs me any chakra. Sasuke swore. Wind style moves were the most effective against earth jutsu, but he didn't know any advanced ones. He made a hand sign. "Wind Style Jutsu!" he yelled, causing a gust of wind to tear at the bunch of earth. It all was blown away in the wind.

Sasuke came in at full speed with a punch ready. Ishimaru ran as well. Sasuke jumped over Ishimarus kick and hit him upside the head. He then used the kick he got from Lee to hit Ishimaru into the air. After that, he just watched as Ishimaru fell to the ground, defeated and tired. Suzaku walked over. "I won't train you," he said, "but I know of this great program that I think you should get into." Suzaku smiled and began to walk off. Sasuke offered a hand to help Ishimaru up.

Ishimaru grabbed his hand and pulled himself up. "Hey, if you guys want lunch," he said, "I know of this great curry shop. I'll pay." Sasuke and Suzaku looked at each other, then nodded to Ishimaru. "Lead the way." Suzaku said. Ishimaru took them down a short distance until they saw the shop. It said, "Curry of Life" on it. They walked in and an old lady greeted them. "Three curries of life." Ishimaru said. The woman smiled and nodded and Sasuke, Suzaku, and Ishimaru sat down. A little while later, the woman came back with three bowls of curry.

The curry had a dark color and was bubbling. "Careful," Ishimaru warned, "it's a little spicy." Sasuke took a spoonful. He began to sweat and his eyes watered. Nonetheless, he liked it. But he did have to say that his mouth wasn't even this hot when he was breathing fire. Suzaku ate some as well. His eyes widened and he kept eating. "This is really good!" he said. Ishimaru smiled as he took a bite and Sasuke looked at him like he was crazy. Sasuke managed to take another bite. The flavor was good, but it was kind of hard to taste when your mouth was numb from heat.

They finished and Ishimaru paid. The three of them left and began heading back towards the village. They got a pretty good half way there before Ishimaru asked to stop. They set up camp and Suzaku went off hunting. Then Sasuke pulled out the ocarina and _The Cherry Blossom Blooms_. He was going to practice the whole song at once for the first time. "You play?" Ishimaru asked, surprised. Sasuke shrugged. "You tell me." he said as he brought the ocarina to his lips. Sasuke then began to play.

The melody was beautiful. It was powerful and moving, yet gentle and romantic. Taka flew from a tree and onto Sasukes shoulder. Sasuke smiled, then closed his eyes and continued playing. When Sasuke continued, as if by genjutsu, pink flower petals began falling from the sky. Ishimaru looked around. Sasuke opened his eyes and was surprised at what he saw, but he kept playing. He had instinctively put his chakra into the song, without even realizing it. The petals swirled in a whirlwind as the song increased in tempo. They swirled into one spinning column, and then they just stopped. Sasuke had slowed the tempo, and the petals began to glow and the flashed in a slow rainbow. They slowly dissolved as Sasukes tune faded out. Everything that happened flowed perfectly with the music.

"That was really good." Ishimaru said. Sasuke smiled. "Thanks." he said as he began playing again.

_To be continued..._


	23. First Kiss

Sasaku woke up to the sun in his face. It was already time for lunch. He'd really enjoyed being able to sleep in. He yawned and stretched, then got up and ate a sandwich. He walked out of the apartment, strapping the two swords to his waist. He was going to practice dual wield techniques. So far, he'd just been lucky doing one-sword techniques with both swords at once. He needed to get attacks that flowed. He then noticed a note on Narutos door. "Back on Monday." it said. Sasaku smirked as he left to go train.

*************************

Sasuke, Suzaku, and Ishimaru were jumping between trees towards the village. "It's almost noon." said Suzaku, looking up at the sky, his black shirt flapping from the speed they were traveling. Sasuke sighed of relief. He really wanted to play that song for Sakura, and he'd finally be able to. The sun was now straight up. The trio touched down at the gate. Sasuke dropped his pack and began to take off. Suzaku grabbed the back of his collar. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, "We've gotta go report the mission to Lady Hokage."

"Can't you do that alone?" Sasuke asked. Suzaku shot him a glare that told him to shut up. Ishimaru just sighed. "I lost to this guy?" he asked himself. They walked to the Hokage mansion. They got in and walked to the Hokages office. Suzaku knocked. "Enter!" barked Tsunade from the other side. Suzaku opened the door, and Tsunade looked up in surprise. "Suzaku?" she said, "Why are you back so soon?" Suzaku smiled. "We finished the mission!" he said. Tsunade shot a weird look at Ishimaru.

"This is Ishimaru." Suzaku said, "And I think that he is worthy of the rank of Genin, and he should be admitted into the Genin academy classes." Tsunade gave him a weird look. "What makes him worthy of that rank?" Tsunade asked. Sasuke stepped foreword. "Me and Ishimaru fought and-" he started, but Tsunade cut him off saying, "If you tell me he beat you, then I'm not going to believe any of the best of your year crap."

"Thing is, I'm not the best of my year," Sasuke said, "Sasaku is." Everyone stared at Sasuke in wonder. There was silence. No one had expected Sasuke to swallow his pride like that. "I beat him," Sasuke finally said, "but he did put up a fair fight." Tsunade nodded and wrote something down on a piece of paper. She then motioned for Ishimaru to come to her desk. She handed him the note and said, "Go down three doors and give this to the man in there." Ishimaru nodded and ran out.

Tsunade then looked between Sasuke and Suzaku. "How did the mission go?" she asked. Suzaku stepped foreword and said, "I would be glad to report that all four missions were a success." He grinned widely as Tsunade glared at him. "I only assigned you one A-rank mission." she said. Suzaku reached into his pack and pulled out the mission scrolls. He tossed them to Tsunade, who caught them and glanced at them. "You stole these." she bluntly said. Suzaku smile and Tsunade sighed. "Well, all that means is you have more to tell me about. Suzaku began explaining every detail of the four days. Sasuke groaned. They were going to be there a while.

*************************

Sasaku kept slashing with the swords. He was trying to hit the tree alternatively with the swords, but he'd only trained with one sword before, and both swords kept going simultaneously. Sasaku panted as he only saw parallel marks in the tree. "I'm sorry, but this is just pathetic to watch." came a voice from behind Sasaku. He drew both swords and turned to face the man. Kakashi stood there, reading his book. "You're Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakuras sensei." Sasaku said, remembering the picture he'd seen in Narutos apartment.

"Yes," Kakashi said, "although I haven't seen them in a while." Sasaku lowered his swords. "Do you think you could help me?" he asked. Kakashi didn't look up from the book. "I suppose I can help." he replied. Sasaku was then taught the difference between one katana and two. Then they went over some stances, strikes, and defensive positions. The sun was setting by the time they finished. "Good job." Kakashi said, "You may go home now." Sasaku nodded, happy with the results.

*************************

The sun had set by the time Sasuke and Suzaku were out of there. "Be back at my place by tomorrow morning." Suzaku said, jumping off. Sasuke was shocked by what he had said. Suzaku really gave him a lot of freedom. Sasuke played a few notes on the ocarina he had. A few moments later, a screech rang through the air, and Taka came and landed on Sasukes head. "Lets go see Sakura." Sasuke said to the falcon.

Sakura had just eaten dinner, and was in her room brushing her hair. Suddenly, there was a tapping on her window. She looked and saw a falcon on her windowsill. She walked over and opened it. She stroked the bird one before it flew down to her backyard. It landed on Sasukes shoulder. "Sasuke?!?" Sakura exclaimed. Sasuke nodded, then began to play _The Cherry Blossom Blooms_ from memory. The petals appeared and did the same dance they did before. Sakura looked at them. She began crying from the beauty of the song.

When it was over, Sasuke jumped onto the roof in front of Sakuras bedroom window. She climbed out the window and sat next to him. "Sasuke," she said, "it's so different without you in the village." Sasuke put the ocarina away. "It's strange not having you around too." he said. The two began to move their faces closer. Finally, their lips met. Sasaku was walking down the street back to his apartment when he saw them. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Oh I've gotta save this!" Sasaku said, pulling out his camera. He took the shot and neither Sasuke nor Sakura noticed.

Sasaku took the piece of paper out of the camera, then ran back to his apartment. There, he watched it develop. He still couldn't believe it. Thank goodness it had doubles, because he didn't want people to know he spread the word. He took the second print and threw it out into the wind. It blew all through town, until it blew into a certain girls face. The girl took the picture, looked at it, and her eyes widened. Ino angrily pocketed the picture and went to go spread the news.

_To be continued..._

**Some of you might think I'm crazy for having Sasaku carry around a camera. I know for a fact that cameras do exist in Naruto. Where's my evidence? The first English opening theme. A camera takes a picture of squad seven, and Naruto messes it up. Also, Kakashi has two photos by his bed. On top of that, Naruto has his picture taken in episode 2. Case closed, there were cameras. Read and Review!**


	24. Rumors

Sakura woke up and walked outside. She had had a great sleep, and then with Sasuke... She just couldn't believe what had happened. It was to bad he had to go so soon, but he didn't want Suzaku to kill him if he was late, so he left when Sakura went to bed. But she wouldn't see him again for two weeks. She sighed as she walked through Konoha. Everywhere she looked, girls were staring at her and whispering. She started to think someone might have seen what happened. But if that were true, no one would believe then because of Sasukes "old personality".

But still, why else would they be acting so weird around her. She shrugged it off and kept walking. She then saw Chouji on the street. "Hey, Chouji!" she yelled happily. Chouji turned to look at her, then began cracking up and walked away. Sakura cocked her head and just kept walking. Later, another girl walked up to her and just said, "Good job!" with a smile and ran off. Now it was getting weird, but she still didn't know if this was about Sasuke.

It was later in the day, and she saw Lee. "Lee, hi!" she called to him. He turned, saw her, drooped his head (like TT_TT), and walked away muttering. Sakura frowned. She needed to get to the bottom of what was going on. She made her way to the flower shop Ino worked at; she'd probably be at the bottom of this. Sakura stormed in. "Okay you pig," she yelled, "what did you say to everyone about me?!?" Ino glared at her, and then flashed her the picture. "I found this last night." she said flatly, handing it to Sakura.

Sakura took the picture and shoved it into her weapon pouch. She was going to have to frame that later. Ino sighed. "Looks like you win..." she muttered. She looked really down, so Sakura decided it'd be best to leave her alone. She walked off towards her house again. She was just glad no horrible rumors had been spread. Then Karei ran up to Sakura. "Sakura!" she frantically exclaimed, "Is it true you're pregnant?!?!?" Sakura looked at her in shock. "Who told you that?!?" she replied.

"Ino..." Karei answered. Sakura stalked off. Next time she saw Ino, she was screwed beyond belief...

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**Earlier that day...**

Sasuke rolled over in bed and slowly got up. Suzaku was still asleep, and the sun was barely rising. Sasuke used a weak water jutsu to split the waterfall. He then went looking around the cave. If this was where he was living, he'd better know the area. The forest around him seemed to be alive in a way. He walked along and saw a squirrel jumping between trees. A woodpecker was beating into a thick oak. A small coyote was stalking a boar.

Sasuke found a small clearing with two deer. He watched as the two grazed in the grass. He took out his ocarina and a scroll. He began playing and writing again. As he played more and more, Taka flew to his shoulder. Apparently, Taka would always come to the sound of the ocarina. That's when Sasuke had a brilliant idea. "Taka," he said, "go back to the cave, and don't come when you hear the music. Taka nodded, and then took off. Sasuke waited a couple of minutes, writing down a chunk of what he was writing before composing of just ten notes. When a sufficient amount of time went by, Sasuke put his chakra into the ocarina and played those ten notes.

A poof of smoke appeared in a tree branch, and when it faded, Taka was sitting perched in the branch. A lot of things could be done with the ocarina; genjutsu, summonings, the options were countless. Sasuke jotted down a few more notes for his second song, _Nature_, and made his way back to the cave. Suzaku was boiling water in a pot when he got back. "Sup!" Suzaku said, waving a hand. That was when Sasuke noticed that Suzakus nails were sharpened to a point.

"So what have you been doing?" Suzaku asked, pouring the water into a bowl of oatmeal. "Practicing." Sasuke replied. Suzaku offered him a bowl of oatmeal, which he took and began eating. It was different then the oatmeal he was used to, sweeter, with a slight spice to it, cinnamon possibly? He quietly ate his food, as Suzaku poured himself a bowl. After about seven minutes, they both finished. Suzaku got up.

"Now that I know what you are capable of," he said, "I can begin training you." Sasuke stared at Suzaku. "That last mission wasn't training?" Sasuke said. Suzaku thought for a moment. "The last one maybe," he said, "but the other three were warm-up exercises." Sasuke glared at Suzaku. Suzaku clapped his hands together and said, "Alright, lets begin. Come with me into the woods."

Sasuke and Suzaku walked until they found a clearing. "Sasuke, I know you wonder why I meditate." he said, "I do it to get more chakra faster. You just fall into a trance, and chakra begins flowing freely from everything around you into your body. Go on and try it." Sasuke sat down and crossed his legs. "Now, fall into a trance, and it will be over before you know it." Sasuke became mentally ready, then blinked. Suzaku was gone and the sun was higher in the sky.

Sasuke walked back to the cave, bewildered by how fast time went by. When he got back, Suzaku had a fire going and was frying something on it. "How long was I there?" Suzaku laughed. "About four hours." he replied. Sasuke sat down amazed and took whatever was being fried. It was some kind of pastry. "How come after all that meditation I don't feel any different?" Suzaku laughed again.

"I want you to launch Grand Fireball Jutsu into the air for as long as you can." he said, "As a part of your training." Sasuke stood up, then looked straight into the sky. He made hand signs, then yelled, "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" A flame shot from his mouth into the air. The fireball was slightly bigger than normal. Sasuke stopped after fifteen minutes. "Is that all?" Suzaku said. Sasuke shook his head and began massaging the back of his neck. "I'd keep going," he said, "but my neck is cramping." Suzaku smiled and walked back into the cave. "I'll teach you Fan the Flames tomorrow if you can catch us some fish to eat for dinner." he said. Sasuke nodded and went downstream where the fish were.

_To be continued..._


	25. Brand New Squad

**It would be best to ignore any feelings of deja vu that may arise while reading the text. The situations in this chapter are purely original and not based off of anything previously in the Naruto series.***

Sasaku ran down the street as fast as he could. Today was Monday, so class started again. He had slept in, and was running really close. He couldn't be late today, they were going to be practicing some special jutsu that is supposed to have the same effects as a military rations pellet. He turned a corner and bumped into a pole. He swore as he stumbled back, then ran at top speed again, turning on the Byakugan to avoid doing that again. Sasaku barged into the classroom, everyone was there, but it didn't seem he was late. He then noticed that Karei wasn't there. He saw Naruto sleeping on his desk and grinned.

Right before Sasaku sat down, Iruka said, "You will not be in class with us today Sasaku, Lady Tsunade has requested that you come see her." Sasaku looked at him questioningly and Iruka shrugged in response. When he shut the door, he heard Iruka begin speaking again. "So Naruto," he said, "how did the weekend training go?" Sasaku only heard grumbling, meaning that Naruto failed miserably. Looks like wind was his only element.

Sasaku walked out of the academy and to the Hokage mansion. He tightened his headband and straightened his swords before walking in her office. Just as he expected, Karei was in there, but so was another boy he didn't know. It was, of course, Ishimaru. "Ah Sasaku, you're here." Tsunade said, "Now we can talk." Sasaku raised an eyebrow and said, "About what?" He walked foreword and stood in the gap between Ishimaru and Karei. Tsunade set her elbows on the desk in front of her. "The three of you," she said, "Enkou Sasaku, Uindo Karei, Keigai Ishimaru, will make up a new squad of genin, commanded under the jounin Arashi Raiden." Thunder and lightning storm.

A man with white hair and a purple vest over a black shirt with navy pants walked in. It must have been Raiden. "Raiden will now take you with him so he may see what you are capable of." Tsunade said. Sasaku smiled as he stared at the man. He looked like he was nothing to sniff at. But the man had a dead serious face. "Come with me," he said, "I will not be waiting." Karei looked at him with a look that said both don't-boss-me-around and you-don't-have-to-tell-me-twice at the same time. Ishimaru stepped out the door after Raiden.

Sasaku shrugged and followed after, followed quickly by Karei. The new squad walked through the village, all the way to a training field. It was a grassy plain surrounded by dense wood. Raiden turned to the squad. "This test will be an all out battle between genin and jounin." he said, "You have until sundown to draw blood from me. If I end up bleeding in any way shape or form, you have succeeded, and may sit back." Sasaku laughed. "Piece of cake!" he said, "This will be a snap!" Karei sighed and said quietly, "Loudmouth..."

Raiden glared at him, with a strange look in his eye. "The first two of you to succeed in drawing blood will pass," he said, "but the third will be required to go through the most severe training. It will be so grueling, I can personally promise that you will regret becoming a ninja." The three of the students looked at each other. Sasaku swallowed hard. "Begin!" Raiden said, vanishing. Sasaku swore and instantly jumped into the woods to track him. Karei jumped in a different direction and Ishimaru put his ear to the ground. He then stood up and shot in one direction.

Ishimaru spotted Raiden hiding in some bushes. He made the sign of the snake. "Earth Style:" he said, "Earth Manipulation!" The ground sprang out from under Raiden. He swore as it put a cut in his leg. Raiden stood up and faced Ishimaru. "Good job," he said, "you found your opponent before he could find you, then unhesitatingly struck from the shadows, you will be a strong shinobi, but there are qualities you lack." Ishimaru shrugged. "Can I take a rest now?" he asked. Raiden sighed and nodded, then took off as Ishimaru dozed in a tree.

An hour passed, Sasaku had finally found Raiden. Sasaku threw a rock to the side of Raiden opposite him. Raiden turned to look and Sasaku silently drew his swords and jumped at him. He was about to strike, when Raiden blocked his katanas with two kunais. Sasaku remembered some of the dual wielding techniques he'd learned, and spun around, one blade following the other. Raiden dodged the two of them and tossed a kunai at Sasaku. Sasaku swore and knocked it down with the Kumori Tora in his right hand. He then thrust at Raiden with the Demon Sword in his left hand.

Raiden went past the sword into close quarters with Sasaku. He kicked Sasaku in the chest, making him fly back into a tree. Sasaku winced in pain and when he opened his eyes, Raiden was gone. He swore again and went searching. "Why the heck are you sleeping?!?" he heard Karei yell. He ran towards her voice and saw her standing over Ishimaru with her arms crossed. Ishimaru looked as if he'd just been woken up. "Ishimaru was asleep?" Sasaku calmly asked. Karei nodded. "The tall guy here already succeeded." Ishimaru sighed and nodded.

Sasaku looked at Karei. It was either him or her now. He looked at the ground. _'I could probably handle the training,'_ he thought, _'but I don't know about her.'_ Sasaku thought for a minute as Karei and Ishimaru stared at him. "Karei," he said, "I'm going to help you finish this." The other two looked at Sasaku in shock. "But then you'll have to go through the intense training." Karei said. Sasaku shrugged. "I think I can take it." he said smiling, "Alright here's the plan..."

_To be continued..._

***Okay, so that's a load of BS, but I thought it'd be a cool situation. Besides, it's not totally similar... Read and review!**


	26. Sweet Sweet Victory

Sasuke was panting now. Even with all the chakra from his morning meditation, he still couldn't get Fan the Flames. In order to do it, you put the element of wind in one lung, and the element of fire in the other. When you exhale, the flame should be twice its normal power. Sasuke could only manage to get fire in both lungs, but wind was obviously his weak point. He sat down with his feet in the river, the cool water rushing past his bare feet. "You givin' up?" Suzaku asked, walking out of the waterfall.

Sasuke nodded and put his elbows on his knees, resting his chin on his hands. "I'm just not that great at wind style techniques." he said. Suzaku smiled. "You're admitting your own weakness," he said, "it takes a lot of courage to do that." Sasuke laughed slightly. Then Suzaku walked back into the waterfall, saying, "Follow me." Sasuke got up and jumped through after him.

Suzaku stood with his back towards the waterfall. He was holding something in front of him. "You're doing well as a student," he said, "so I want you to have these. I fixed them to the best of my abilities, but even a master blacksmith like myself can't repair a legendary weapon. They wont be at full power, but they should still work." He turned around to reveal to Sasuke the two swords Raiga had. Sasuke picked them up from his hands. He swung them, then, from instinct, some of his lightning chakra flowed between the two swords.

"Thank you," Sasuke said, "but I think I'll just train with one, and the other will be mounted on a plaque in my room." The two smiled at each other. "Now," Suzaku said, "how 'bout I help you use your chakra with that sword?" Sasuke nodded, and the two walked outside. Sasuke was ecstatic about the new blade that was practically made for him.

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"Brilliant," Karei said, "that's bound to work!" Sasaku smiled, but slightly downcast his head. "You sure you want to go through with this?" she continued. Sasaku nodded. "Alright," Ishimaru said, "let's get this show on the road." Karei and Sasaku looked towards him. "Thanks for the help." Sasaku said. Ishimaru jumped out of the tree and put his ear to the dirt. After almost a minute, he got up and began running. The other two followed swiftly.

After a small time of traveling, they spotted Raiden. Karei worked her way to the back of Raiden, still remaining concealed, while Ishimaru and Sasaku jumped at him for a frontal assult. Raiden seemed shocked, then smiled as he fended off both of Sasakus blades and jumped away from the jumping ground. A small chunk of earth floated in the air. It was flat, and almost board like. It was as solid as steel. Ishimaru jumped on it and rocketed towards Raiden.

Raiden ducked and Ishimaru was clotheslined on a branch. He fell back with a bloody nose. Raiden was too distracted by Ishimaru that he didn't notice that Sasaku was closing in. He was hit in the face with the butt of the Kumori Tora. As he stumbled back, Sasaku kicked him against a tree. He then got behind Raiden and pounded his back with the backside of both swords. Raiden flew onto his stomach and lay there, watching Sasaku. "Well," he said, "are you not going to attack?" The tone of his voice was almost commanding. Sasaku shook his head and he dropped both swords, the black blades sticking into the dirt.

Raidens eyes widened and he turned around in time to see the kunai that grazed his face. A small trail of blood streaked under his eye. Sasaku sighed in relief and sheathed the swords. Raiden began laughing. "You all are a very interesting bunch of genin!" he said. The three students all stared at him with confusion. "What's so funny?" Karei asked. Raiden slowly lost the laughter. "All three of you passed," he said, "with flying colors might I add."

Sasakus eyes widened, Kareis jaw dropped, and Ishimaru just closed his eyes and smiled, leaning against a tree. "H-how did I pass?" Sasaku said, "I didn't complete what you assigned us." This got another small burst of laughter out of Raiden. "The real test wasn't whether or not you could do it, it was if you'd help your teammates to succeed." He pointed to Ishimaru.

"You helped your teammates succeed, even though you'd already passed." he said. Ishimaru grinned. "I never would have helped, though," he said, "if Sasaku asked me to help him so he'd beat Karei, or vice versa. I'll do whatever I can to stop conflict from being in this group." Raiden turned towards Sasaku.

"You helped your teammate, even though you knew the consequences for you." he said, "It takes a brave soul to do that. It must have been a really hard decision to make. Yet, it's rare if any groups of genin actually pass the teamwork test and selflessly throw away their own victory for the sake of your team. Sacrifice is the key to being a ninja, self-sacrifice. I congratulate you all, you're an official squad now!"

Sasaku punched the air. "Alright!" he yelled. Raiden smiled at him, as did Karei and Ishimaru. "Now you will begin being assigned on missions," Raiden said, "sometimes with each other, sometimes with other genin. You have all done well, now go home and rest up." The squad nodded, and they all took off in their separate directions. Thus was the start of another team of genin...

_To be continued..._

**Alrighty, I've got some writers block for the next chapter, so I'm having a competition. I want everyone to submit either a B or C rank mission that needs to be done. Don't make it special for any characters, because the only positive one that is going is Sasaku. You have until Friday, January 2****nd**** to submit detailed desriptions of the mission. Until then, I won't write any more Shinobi Tales. DO NOT PUT IT IN THE REVIEW SECTION, PM ME. I will, of course, give you credit for it in the chapter. Read and review!**


	27. Weekend Mission

**Credit for this mission goes to Brolly Legend.**

_12 days later..._

Sasaku yawned as he drank some milk straight from the carton. He smacked the lid back on as a knock came from his door. He looked out the peephole to see a man with a bandana and a chuninn vest. He had a gross looking scar running down his exposed right arm and his left arm was covered in a tight black sleeve. Sasaku opened the door. "Enkou Sasaku?" the man asked. Sasaku sleepily nodded and said, "More or less." The man looked him over. "Get ready and come to the Hokage mansion, lady Hokage has a mission for you." The man walked away.

With a groan, Sasaku got ready, strapped the Kumori Tora and the Demon Sword on his waist and took off. _'This is my weekend,'_ Sasaku thought to himself, _'I shouldn't need to go on these forsaken missions! I swear, Tsunade is just doing this to bug me...'_ He walked to the mansion and went to the Hokages office. As soon as he knocked on the door, Tsunade barked, "Enter!" He almost hesitated to open the door. Inside, Tsunade was sitting behind her desk with her feet up. Sasuke turned around to see Sasaku there. "So what's the mission that's so important that it had to ruin my weekend?"

Tsunade glared at him and Sasaku stumbled back with a fearful expression on his face. There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Tsunade said. She sighed as Ino walked into the room. Ino looked between Sasuke and Sasaku, and an expression of absolute happiness crossed her face, no matter how much she tried to hide it. _'I'm going on a mission with the two hottest boys in the village?'_ she said, _'Lady Tsunade, you have amazing judgment.'_ Tsunade locked her fingers and rested her chin on them with her elbows on the table.

"Now, you may be all wondering why I brought you here," she said, "there is a mission that needs attending to. This mission is borderline B-rank/C-rank. You are all familiar with the mine outside of town that we use to get the ore for our weapons, right? One day, they just stopped sending the ore. It would appear that the workers have been taken hostage inside the mine by a small group of men. I want you to find the one behind all this and put an end to it. If you succeed in the mission, your kunai and shuriken will be provided to you for free, and all other weapons will be at a significant discount."

"The reward alone is tempting enough," Sasuke said, "when do we leave?" Tsunade remained silent for a moment. "Now!" she blurted. Sasaku groaned as he took the mission scroll and the group headed off. They began walking through town. "So, Sasuke," Sasaku said, "how's the training coming?" Sasuke shrugged, then said, "Go to the gate, I'll catch up with you." Sasaku looked at him questioningly as he ran off, pulling out his ocarina. He'd mastered many new songs, along with some jutsu that went along with some of them.

"Where's he off to?" Sasaku asked, pretending stupidity. Ino frowned. "I bet I know..." she said, radiating anger. Sasaku asked, "Where? Better question, how do you know?" Ino kicked a rock, which hit a wall, and bounced into a nearby puddle that was under a rain gutter. "Two weeks ago," she said, "a picture of them together blew into my face." Sasaku had to squeeze his leg to prevent him from cracking up. She'd apparently gotten the second photo.

They got to the gate and waited just a minute or two before Sasuke showed up. "Ready?" Sasaku asked. Sasuke nodded, and the three of them took off. They were jumping between trees, going at a fast pace. The sun was straight up in the sky by the time they spotted the mine. It was a big cave, with tracks leading in and out. There was a mine cart full of ore outside, along with two pickaxes, a shovel, and four helmets. Sasuke grabbed three of them and tossed two of them to Sasaku and Ino. Sasaku shot him an odd look. "They have these for a reason." Sasuke said, strapping it on.

Sasaku threw his into the cart and made his way into the mine. Sasuke and Ino quickly followed. They were only walking for a minute when Ino finally said, "I can't see a thing! Can't someone use a fire ninjutsu to light the way?" Sasuke shook his head in the darkness. "I'm sorry Ino, I almost forgot about you." he said, "Me and I bet Sasaku are using the Sharingan to see. We can't use a light if we want to be stealthy." Sasaku sneered quietly. "I'm using the Byakugan," he said, "works much better at seeing in the dark."

"So you wont mind leading Ino," Sasuke said, "will you hotshot?" Sasaku was surprised by the proposition. "Umm... sure..." he said slowly. He grabbed Inos hand and they both blushed in the darkness. Sasuke then led the way, with Sasaku and Ino in quick tow. They walked for a ways when a crunch rang out through the mine from under Sasukes shoe. "Sasaku," he said, "what did I just step on?" Sasaku let go of Inos hand and bent down to see what it was. His pale eyes widened. "It was," he said, "a human skull..."

Ino gasped and Sasuke made a face like he was about to vomit. Sasaku laughed. "Just joking!" he chuckled, "It was just a twig!" Both Ino and Sasuke pounded the top of his head. As Sasaku let out a quiet "ow!" Sasuke said, "Should've worn a helmet." Sasaku growled as he grabbed Inos hand and they took off again. A faint light shone in the distance. It flickered, obviously made from a flame. As they got closer, they began to here voices. Soon it was bright enough for Ino to see. Sasuke and Sasaku released their Doujutsu and they hid behind some rocks.

When they looked, they saw three men with mugs of some alcoholic drink. There was another man who wore a waterfall headband with a slash through it. "Noriyoka Sarin..." Sasuke muttered, "Suzaku had me study the list of top rouge ninjas. He's been on the loose since before I was born, and he likes to take hostages and ransom them off." Sasaku nodded. "So what style are we dealing with?" Ino said. Sasuke thought for a moment, trying to remember. "Water and fuuma shuriken."

_To be continued..._


	28. Powerful Opponent and New Jutsu

"So we've got nothing to worry about!" Sasaku said. Sasuke shook his head. "His water style is one of the most lethal of all." he said, "He can make it as strong as any blade, and can also conjure water ninjutsu in the driest of areas." Sasaku growled. "We need to find out where the hostages are," Ino said, "before we do anything else." There came a shout from the tunnel leading into the big room that all the men were in. "Oi, Sarin," one of the men said, "looks like the miners are actin' up again." Sarin groaned and stood up as the three drunken men laughed for no reason.

He walked into the tunnel as a light bulb went on above Sasaku's head. He transformed into one of the men. "What are you doing?" Sasuke whispered. Sasaku winked and jumped off the ramp and onto the man he turned into. He put a hand over his mouth and threw him up to Sasuke and Ino. Sasuke pounded on his head and the man passed out cold. The same happened with the other two, and Ino and Sasuke transformed into them. "Great plan," Ino said, "let's hope it works."

Sarin walked back in. He eyed the three of them with disgust. "You're lucky I'm here," he said, "otherwise you'd be dead if some group came to find us." Sasaku burst out into laughter. Ino and Sasuke thought he might blow his cover, but he decided to play the role. Instantly, Sasaku stopped laughing and heave a load of shuriken at Sarin. "What the blazes are you doing?!?" Sarin yelled, jumping out of the way. Sasuke, still disguised, jumped towards Sarin. Sarin grabbed Sasuke by the hair, and threw him at Sasaku.

The transformation was undone when Sasuke landed on Sasaku. Sasaku groaned and looked around. _'Where'd Ino go?'_ he thought. Sarin looked around with the same realization. He sprinted down the hallway that led into the hostage chamber. Sasaku swore and charged after him, then tackled him to the ground. Sasuke ran past him. "I'll go help the hostages!" Sasuke yelled, throwing his helmet off. Sasaku nodded, then was kicked into the air against the cave ceiling. He yelled in pain as he spat blood from his mouth.

When Sasaku fell again, Sarin punched him in the stomach, sending him flying into the wall. Sasaku fell to his knees. He trembled as he got onto his hands as well and threw up on the ground. He hadn't eaten anything recently, and the puke was a bright, almost glowing yellow. Sarin sneered as he walked to the side of Sasaku and kicked him in the ribs. Sasaku clenched his side and felt an intense burning all over his body. When he opened his eyes, he saw water creeping up around him. He jumped and the water followed in a snake like way.

Sarin chuckled, and then thrust his arm towards Sasaku. A blitz of water instantly smashed into him. Sasaku felt the wind be knocked out of him. He heard a growl in his head, the sound of a tiger that was trying to scare an enemy. Sasaku drew his swords and knocked the water away. Sarin looked at Sasaku with interest. "Fire Style:" Sasaku yelled, "Ninja Blade!" The Kumori Tora and Demon Sword were coated in fire. Sasaku slashed at Sarin, who ducked under it.

More water shot at Sasaku. He hit it with the swords and the water evaporated instantly. The swords remained lit. "Interesting..." Sarin said, to quiet for Sasaku to hear. He vanished into thin air and Sasaku collapsed to his knees. He slowly got up and sheathed the Kumori Tora. He used the Demon Blade to support him as he stood. He sheathed it and limped to the wall. Clinging onto that, he slowly made his way to the hostage chamber. After a few minutes, he made it there. Inside was a ton of buff looking men standing behind jail like bars. They all looked up at Sasaku as he hobbled in.

"Sasaku!" Ino said, "Are you okay?" Sasaku nodded, then winced as he fell against the wall. Sasuke and Ino ran up to him. "What happened?" Sasuke asked. Sasaku slumped down to the ground. "That doesn't matter," he said, "why didn't you get the hostages out?" He stared up at the two; telling them without saying anything, "focus on the mission first". Sasuke replied, "We can't break the bars or unlock them." Sasaku swore. "Help me get over there!" he said, "I've got a jutsu that may work." Sasaku put a arm around Sasuke, and they slowly went to the bars.

Sasaku put his hands together in the sign of the tiger. "Fire Style:" he said softly, "Pyro Jutsu!" He blew on the fingers and a small, candle sized flame lit above the first two fingers on both hands. He ripped his hands apart, keeping just the first two fingers on each hand extended. The flames remained above the fingers, but they were blue-white now. He closed his left hand into a fist, extinguishing the flame. He put the remaining flame to the top of one of the bars. Sparks flew from it as the metal slowly began to cut.

"What kind of jutsu is that?" Ino asked. Sasaku smiled. "I developed it when I was trying to find a way to make the eight trigrams one hundred and twenty-eight palms even more powerful." he said. He finished cutting through the top of the bar and instantaneously went to the bottom of the bar. He finished this one on about a minute. He grabbed the bar and used it for support to stand as all the workers filed out. "Thank you so very much!" one of the workers said. Sasaku nodded as they ran to their freedom down the torch lit pathway.

"Good job Sasaku!" Ino exclaimed, "Now let's get out of here." Sasuke grabbed one of the torches and took the lead. Sasaku limped on after him, and Ino walked beside Sasaku. They made it to the chamber with the ramp going up around half the room to the way out. Sasaku sighed, then took the metal pole and held it horizontally by his side. "I think I'm okay..." he said. Sasuke eyed him carefully. "Don't push yourself!" he said. Sasaku nodded and walked at Sasukes heels up the ramp.

They got to the top and had just entered the cave when the ground began shaking. Sasaku gripped the bar for balance. There was a cracking noise above them. They all looked up to see the roof of the cave coming down on them. Sasuke dived foreword and Sasaku and Ino jumped back. Sasuke gasped for breath when he realized the roof was still falling. He ran as fast as he could for the cave exit, his Sharingan up so he could see. The roof kept going down behind him, slowly closing in. Sasuke ran, driving all his chakra into his legs. He dived out of the cave entrance just in time. He gasped for breath and looked at the blocked cave entrance.

_To be continued..._


	29. Trapped

**Yo! Suzaku! Sasaku finally got his but kicked! How's that for powering down Sasaku?!? Are you happy NOW?!? Do you think my character is to powerful NOW?!?!? Or should I tone him down a little more?!?**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**Sorry, I really needed to get that out... read and review!**

Sasaku lifted his head. He spat dirt and blood out of his mouth as his stomach growled for food. After he'd thrown up, he had felt extremely hungry. He frantically turned around. Behind him was a solid wall of rock. Ino lay on her stomach, her lower right leg was under the pile of rocks. A small puddle of blood had formed under it. Sasaku swore as he rushed over to her. He began heaving the rocks away. None of them were to big so it was unlikely anything broke, but there was probably a fracture.

After all the rocks had been moved, Sasaku saw a leg that was shredded. It had deep scrapes and cuts, and was covered in bruises. Ino gasped for air as she pushed up with her hands. "Don't move!" Sasaku said, "You're leg is in really bad shape." Ino groaned as she rolled onto her back. She slowly sat up, keeping her right leg extended, and bringing her left knee to her chest. She gagged when she saw what it looked like, then turned away.

Sasaku reached into his pack, then pulled out a jug of water, some cleaning alcohol, and a wrap of gauze. He sat them by Ino. "Clean and bandage it," he said, "I'll see if I can find anything for a splint. Just in case." She nodded and he stood up and walked down the tunnel. What he was actually going to do was find some food for them, but the splint thing was his excuse. A shriek rang from behind him, indicating Ino had just put on the alcohol. He walked into the cell room. There was a door in the wall across from the cells. He stepped inside...

*************************

Sasuke ran at full speed back to Konoha. He jumped over the wall surrounding the village, and then hopped from roof to roof to the Hokage mansion. He jumped to the window of Tsunades office and began knocking like crazy. Tsunade got up out of her seat and slowly walked to the window. "This better be important!" she said, opening the window, "And where are your teammates?!?" Sasuke explained what happened as fast as he could. "...So if we could get Ishimaru down there-!"

"Ishimaru is on a mission." Tsunade stated. Sasuke swore. "Who else is good enough with earth style to move that much?!?" Sasuke yelled. Tsunade thought for a minute. "No one," she said, "Ishimaru should be back the day after tomorrow. Until then, we must pray for their safety." Sasuke swallowed hard. He hoped his comrades would be okay. He slumped against the wall. _'Don't die Sasaku,'_ he thought, _'I still want a rematch!'_

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Sasaku walked back down the passageway. Inside the room was a week's supply of food for twenty people. He chewed an apple and had a small selection in a pouch on his back. In his other hand was a thin strip of wood he'd ripped off the door for Ino's splint. As he came closer to the chamber, he heard more shouts of pain. He quickened his pace and came into the room. Ino was putting the bandage on, and it looked as if she was in extreme pain every time it touched her leg.

Sasaku set the pack down. He put his left hand on Inos forehead. _'I hope this works,' _he thought, _'I'm not that good at genjutsu...'_ He made a sign with his right hand and Ino fell into a trance like state. Sasaku took the bandages and began wrapping her leg. After he did one layer, he placed the splint and wrapped it tight as well. Once he tied it off, he made a hand sign and Ino immediately snapped out of the trance. She instantly squeezed her eyes shut and clutched her leg. "That should help if it really is fractured..." Sasaku said.

A tear appeared in the corner of her squinted eyes. Sasaku picked up the remaining water and cleaning alcohol and packed it. He then brought over the bag with all the food in it. He opened it and offered Ino some. She grabbed a chunk of bread and quietly chewed on it. Sasaku finished the yellow-green apple and walked up the dirt ramp to the place where the cave fell in. He put his hand on it and tapped one rock with another a couple of times. Ino turned around to see Sasaku make hand signs.

He thrust his right hand down and it was coated in electricity. The sound of a thousand birds echoed through the tunnel. He thrust his hand into the rocks. He then ripped it sideways and swiped at it multiple times, each time cutting through the rock wall. He made it in about a yard before the Chidori died on him. He swore loudly and kicked one of the rocks. It broke into tiny fragments as it hit the wall. Ino flinched slightly.

Sasaku hunched over and punched the rocky wall beside him. A small stream of blood trickled down through the gloves from his knuckles. "Why has my life always had to be hell..." he mumbled. There came a maniacal laughter from the tunnel leading into the room. Sarin walked in. "If you thought it was a hell before," he said, "then just wait until I'm finished with you" Sasakus breathing quickened as he reached for his swords...

_To be continued..._

**For those of you wondering, Sasakus past will be explained. That will have to wait a couple of chapters though. Unless the demand for it is high enough. Seriously though, review!**


	30. Living Hell

**All right, this is a Naruto fanfic after all, so I've decided to do it. Come on, how can the story be realistic in relation to Kishimoto-sama if it doesn't have at least one of these chapters. I know they're annoying, but I think this one would be cool... maybe... for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about; you obviously are new to the Naruto series. That's right boys and girls: flashback!**

**Also, I can nearly guarantee you will look at this chapter for its inaccuracy. Remember, IT'S A DIFFERENT CONTINENT! Read and review!**

_A year ago..._

The wind was blowing through the city. A young boy with spiky black hair and green eyes rode his scooter down the road. He turned the handle back and the motor buzzed as it sped up. His black goggles blurred as the fog began to cling to them. He was late for dinner, and he didn't want his older brother to hork it all before he even knew what it was. He pulled up to the house and flipped the switch on his scooter. The engine died and he noticed something wrong.

The front door was hung wide open. No one could be seen inside. Sasaku heard a loud bang, a gunshot. He gulped as he watched some men run from the hallway. He swore when they saw him and turned the scooter back on. The men shouted after him, but he rode as fast as he could in the other direction. He went through town to the police station. Leaving the scooter running, he burst inside. Gasping for breath, he ran to the counter. There was a short blonde woman behind it, with her hair in a ponytail.

She looked down and saw him panting. "What's the matter?" she asked him. He explained everything he saw. She grabbed a phone and punched in some numbers. Sasaku stared out the window and soon he saw two police officers on motorcycles speeding off in the direction of his house. He sighed and walked out, got on his scooter and began riding there as well. When he got there a medical vehicle was there as were those officers. There was "DO NOT CROSS" tape all around his house.

"Sasaku!" someone called from behind. Sasaku turned around to see his dad and brother running towards him. He jumped off the scooter and ran towards them. His dad caught him in a bear hug, tears running down his face. "I'm so glad you're okay!" he said, "I thought they went after you." Sasaku got out of the grip. "Where's mom?!?" he asked frantically. As if to answer his question, two men walked out of the house with a stretcher and a body covered in a white cloth on it.

Tears began to well up in Sasaku's eyes. He clenched his fists, then ran to his scooter. "What're you doing?!?" his father exclaimed. Sasaku didn't reply as he pulled his goggles from around his neck to over his eyes. He sped off before his dad could get him. _'I will avenge my mom,'_ he thought, _'I swear it!'_ He went in the direction that he heard the police say the men went. He finally found this old warehouse that probably had the men in it. He turned off his scooter and snuck inside, hiding behind old metal barrels. The two men from before were in there, along with a full gang of people.

"Alright, so now we sail across the ocean to find Lord Orochimaru and prove our worth to him." one of the men from before said. Some other guy said, "He said not to come until we've killed enough people. We should be overqualified!" The men began laughing and Sasaku almost threw up. He tightened his fist and clenched his teeth. All he came to do was get revenge for his mom, but now he was against a gang and some man called Orochimaru. "Alright," another one of the men said, "we know how to get there, and of course we start with a clean slate there, but won't the Hidden Leaf Village go through severe background checks before we're allowed on that continent?"

"Konoha wont expect us to be hitchhiking on a merchant ship," the second man from before laughed, "now will they?" The one who asked the question shrugged and the men began stocking heat on them. Sasaku growled. After a few minutes, he shuffled his feet. "Oi!" one of the men yelled, "I think I heard something over there." Sasaku's eyes widened as he prayed he wouldn't get caught. A mans footsteps began coming towards him. He scooted further behind the barrels. A bald man with a leather vest with no sleeves or undershirt stalked over.

Sasaku was to far behind the barrels for him to be seen, so the man walked right past him. Sasaku grabbed a wooden board near him and snuck up behind the man. He hit him in the back of the head, knocking him out cold. "Hey, Kenjuu" one of the men yelled, "what was that noise?" Sasaku gulped and grabbed the pistol Kenjuu was holding. He backed up behind the barrels again. More footsteps came and the second man from before walked up. "What the-?!?" he saw Sasaku, who'd pulled the trigger. A bang sounded off and the man clutched his chest as blood spilled onto the ground. He fell down and stopped moving. There was a bloody hole in his back as well.

The all but one of the men rushed over. They all had different guns pointed at Sasaku. Sasaku put his hands up and dropped the .40 cal. Two men grabbed his arms and dragged him to the one lone man. It was the first one from before. The men holding him just dropped him. He looked over Sasaku carefully. "You're that boy from before," he said, "the one that pulled up on the scooter." He began laughing. "Let me guess, that was your mom I shot." Sasaku let out a low growl.

The man nodded to the other men. Sasaku was kicked onto the ground from behind him. He looked up at the man. What he saw was the barrel of a 10 gauge. The man began laughing again. "Don't worry kid," he said, "you'll join your mother soon enough!" All of the men laughed wildly. Sasaku closed his eyes. He waited through the laughter, tears welling up in his eyes. He heard a loud bang.

_To be continued..._


	31. Vengeance

_A year ago..._

Sasaku heard the gunshot, but he felt nothing. He cracked his eyes open and saw the man clutching his bloody left shoulder. He spun around and saw the rest of the gang pulling out guns of every kind and began firing at the police squad that had just burst in. Shots rang out and a shower of blood fell onto the floor. Many of the gang members dropped. Sasaku turned back to face the man, but he was gone. One of the officers yelled into a walkie-talkie: "Code red! Serial killer 'Gando Horo is on the run! Requesting back up!"

_'So,'_ Sasaku thought, _'my mom was killed by a serial killer!'_ He picked up a 44. and sprinted after the trail of blood that Horo had left behind. He saw Horo running towards the dock. A boat was setting sail, and read: "Konoha-Damsut Trade." It was the merchant ship Horo and his men were going to be smuggled on. Sasaku shot at Horo, all while running after him. Horo dived into the boat and pulled out his own rifle. Sasaku heard a gunshot, two, three, and four. On the fourth one he felt an extreme pain in his right thigh.

He looked down and saw blood gushing from it. He fell to the ground, clutching it. The world began to blur. Policemen ran up to Sasaku. They were saying things he couldn't understand. His vision blurred into a mixture of fuzzy colors, mostly red. After a minute of this, he finally blacked out cold. There was nothing but darkness for a long time. He was aware of himself, but nothing else. All he knew was that his thigh hurt and he was flat on his back, nothing more.

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Sasakus eyes cracked open. He was lying in a bed with a warm blanket over him. All around him was a curtain. He pulled the curtain open. What he saw was a hospital room at night. The moon shone out his window, and a clock read: "4:57". He lay back down. On a bed next to him was an old man that was hooked up to tons of tubes. He had a sickly look to him and had some patches of hair missing. He let out a gross sounding snore and Sasaku almost ralphed.

He lay back down and moved the blanket off of him. He was wearing one of those hospital gowns that make you want to claim you're Scottish. Sasaku lifted up the gown to see his thigh. It was in bloody gauze and was drained of color. It itched like crazy, but Sasaku was afraid to touch it. He ran his hand lightly over it, feeling around the hole. He felt a small lump under the bandage, then another, then another. Three. There were three small long parallel lumps in the bandage. He ran his hand over them again and again, trying to figure out what they were. They were right on his shot wound.

He put the blanket over him and began thinking again. Then it came to him. He swore as he ran his hand over the stitches again and again. _'How long have I been out?'_ he asked himself. He lay waiting for two more hours before the light flicked on and the hospital burst to life. A nurse walked in and made a surprised look when she saw Sasaku. "You recovered quickly." she stated, "We weren't expecting you to wake up from the medicine until tomorrow evening." Sasaku nodded. "Where's the bathroom?" he asked. The nurse pointed to a bin near his bed. Sasaku looked between it and her. Finally, he said, "I don't think so!" He threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

This shocked the nurse again. "Be careful with those stitches." she said. Sasaku groaned. "I know how to handle them," he said, "I just got some removed from my neck two months ago! It was a freak scooter accident." He walked towards a door near his bed. Inside was a toilet with railing on each side. He shut the door and came back out a minute later. The nurse was gone. He sat back down on the bed as his stomach growled. When was he supposed to eat. Fifteen minutes later, a man walked in and said, "Sasaku, I'm glad you're healing so quickly." Sasaku nodded.

"Is there anything you'd like to eat?" the man asked.

"What are my options?" Sasaku replied.

"Do you want it delivered or do you want to go to the cafeteria?"

"Cafeteria!

"Then go down one floor and follow the signs." The man departed from the room and Sasaku walked to the window. He was on the third floor, and outside was his neighborhood. He smiled, thankful that he was only two blocks from his house. He walked to the cafeteria and ate a quick breakfast. After that, he went back to his room and began reading. After another few hours, his dad and brother walked into the room. His dad smiled and his brother said, "Told you he'd be awake."

He dad hugged him, then said, "I'm so glad you're okay." Sasaku looked down. "He got away..." he said. His dad and brother looked at him. "Dad," Sasaku said, "after I recover, I'm going on a boat to Konoha. There, I'll train as a Shinobi and find and kill Horo. I will do it to avenge mom, I promise!" His dad looked at him with surprise. He slowly nodded. "If you feel like you must..." he said. The two hugged each other tight. Sasaku would soon go on the biggest adventure of his life, doing self-taught training and also working with many sensei's. Sonn, becoming the ninja he is today...

_To be continued..._

**Well, end of the flashback. Does that explain anything? And don't worry; the action will come back in the next chapter. Read and review!**


	32. No Hope

Sasuke stood in front of the caved in entrance, contemplating what he should do. It was a little after noon now. He blew a small portion of notes on his ocarina. A screech rang out as Taka flew down. Sasuke held out his arm and Taka landed on it. "Scout the area for an entrance to the cave!" Sasuke said. Taka nodded and flapped off around the mountain. _'They should be able to last.'_ Sasuke thought, _'But Sasaku was in pretty bad shape when I left him. And that cave in could have injured them...'_ He spun around as he heard footsteps behind him. It was a man walking down the path that led by the mine. He had a shaved head and wore a leather vest with no shirt.

He looked at Sasuke with interest. "What's a young boy like you doing here?" he said with a slight accent. Sasuke grabbed a kunai, keeping it hidden at his side. "Waiting for a friend..." he said. The man began laughing hysterically. "Now why would anyone meet you here?" he said, "You've heard about the miners haven't you?" Sasuke gripped the kunai tighter. He couldn't see what this man was going at. "It's been taken care of," he said, "the miners left this morning."

"And how do you know that?" the man asked. Sasuke wondered if it was all right to tell this man. "I was sent on the mission to rescue them." he said. The man snickered. "You saved all those miners from a B-ranked criminal?" he laughed. Sasuke eyed him cautiously. "How'd you know who was behind it?" he asked. The man laughed again. Sasuke was beginning to think he had a touch of the crazies. "My master knows everything that goes on in this world!" he said, "He is a genius shinobi who has mastered thousands of jutsu, and has developed a way for endless life. You should come with me and train under him."

Sasuke shook his head. "I already have a sensei." he bluntly stated. The man shrugged. "Suit yourself." he said, "But if you change your mind, come looking for me. Ask for the name 'Horo'." Sasuke nodded. The man smiled and kept walking down the path. Sasuke sighed, glad that it was just a wandering traveler. He looked back up at the sky. Taka was flying back towards him. He let out a screech and hovered in front of Sasukes face. He shook his head, indicating there was no other entrance they could go in through.

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Sasaku stood with his swords drawn in front of him. Sarin looked at the swords with intrest. "So, the rumors are true," Sarin said, "that a young boy wield the two black blades. One holds the Kumori Tora, while the other has power to destroy or empower demons." Sasaku growled and Ino looked at him shocked. _'If black swords weren't creepy enough,'_ she thought, _'there has to be a demon inside them as well.'_

Sasaku gripped the swords and ran at Sarin. Sarin simply thrust his hand towards Sasaku, causing him to be attacked by a blast of cold water. Sasaku yelped, falling to the ground. He was not in the condition to be fighting. Water began creeping up Sasakus body. The water was cold beyond belief. It made a shell around Sasaku, then ice slowly crept up it. All Sasaku could do was wait for the ice to envelop all but his head and shoulders. It finally finished and Sarin walked up to Sasaku. "You know," he said, "I was going to really make some bank off those hostages, but you just couldn't let me do that. A man needs money to live, and you couldn't let me have that one thing!"

A chilling wave rushed over Sasaku as Sarin walked towards Ino. "Your life is really going to be hell soon!" he said over his shoulder, "I'll kill your comrade in front of your own eyes, then kill you. Your swords should make an excellent profit, shouldn't they." Sasaku growled, trying to move his arms. Because the ice was just a layer over his skin, and was not directly attached, he could move very slightly. The ice did, however, cling to his sleeves. They were completely encompassed, making the movement hard. He loosened his grip on the swords. They remained perfectly in place as he flexed his fingers in the small space.

Ino trembled as she drew a kunai. Sarin knocked it out of her hands, then pulled her up by the hair. Sasaku growled. He gripped his swords again. Sarin pulled out a tanto, and held it to Inos neck. "Say goodbye!" Sarin taunted. Ino clenched her eyes shut. Sasaku smiled. "Later!" he said, "Lightning Style: Ninja Blade!" The ice burst from around the swords as they were coated in electricity. Sasaku burst free of the ice, but his left sleeve tore off. He jumped at Sarin. Raising the tanto, Sarin said, "Just what I'd expect from the Juubi!" He threw Ino onto the ground and heaved a wave of fuuma shuriken at Sasaku.

Sasaku deflected all the shuriken with his swords. Sarins eyes widened as Sasaku came closer. The Kumori Tora grazed his face. He clutched his cheek from the power of the electricity. Sasaku came at him again, but Sarin put up a wall of ice. Sasaku hacked at it, but to no avail. He watched as Sarin made constant hand signs. He weaved them for what seemed like ages. Sasakus eyes widened once he realized what was going on. "We need to get out of here!" he yelled. He ran into the hallway and turned around to see Ino quickly limping after. He ran back to her.

"Jump on my back!" he said, "And hold on tight!" She did just that and he winced from the pain. He drove what little remained of his chakra into his legs and began sprinting down the cave. He just needed to get as far away as possible, and the room with all the food in it was his best bet. Sasaku tripped over a rock, falling face first onto the ground. Inos sprawled in a heap in front of him. She grabbed her shin and let out quick gasps of pain. "Water Style:" echoed down the hallway, "Water Dragon Jutsu!" Sasaku turned around and saw a huge jet of water rushing at them. It looked like a dragon and roared like a waterfall.

_To be continued..._


	33. Mission Complete

**This is a Sasuke redemption chapter. So fangirls, that means that Sasuke is back and better. I apologize for having him look bad in all those previous chapters. But now, the super powerful raven haired emo kid is back! Read and review!**

_'Pant, pant, pant... Slowly gaining. Pant, pant, pant... Need to run! Pant, pant, pant... Move legs, move! Pant, pant, pant... My ears are ringing. Pant, pant, pant... Someone is shouting. Pant, pant, pant... Someone is calling my name! Pant, pant... Can't give up now! Pant, pant... Need to press on! Pant, pant... The noise is deafening. Pant, pant... The water is gaining! Pant, pant... I need to get up! Pant, pant... I must get up! Pant... I will save her! Pant... I will not... pant... die now!!! I won't be defeated after coming so far! I won't be DEFEATED! I WON'T BE DEFEATED!!!!!'_

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A loud crash rang out from the other side of the mountain the mine was in. Sasuke saw a bursting flow of water. He jumped up and to it as quick as he could. He hoped he wasn't to late. _'Could Sarin have killed them?' _He thought to himself. His pace quickened as he heard a grown man's roar of rage. He drew a kunai and readied a fuuma shuriken. Running faster then ever, he saw the back of the mine. It was burst wide open, and it was the room with the cell in it. As Sasuke came in for further inspection, someone jumped on top of him.

He let out a yelp as a kunai was placed on his neck. He cracked his eyes open to see Sasaku, with a surprised look on his face. "Oh thank God it's just you!" Sasaku said, "We've got to go as soon as possible." He growled and fell to his knees as he clutched his severely bleeding left arm. The scar running down his eye also had a small trickle of blood running down it. Both of his sleeves were ripped off. "Where's Ino?" Sasuke asked. Sasaku swore as he turned towards the hallway that had been made significantly bigger from the jutsu.

He turned back and saw the door to the food cracked open. Small gasps of pain came from inside. Sasaku walked towards it, but it opened slowly before he got there. Ino stepped out of it, limping with every step she took. She walked quickly towards Sasaku and Sasuke. "Hurry!" Sasaku said, grabbing her hand, "He's coming fast!" Sarin was, of coarse, running down the tunnel. Sasuke threw the fuuma shuriken at him. He jumped over it, just to see another one following it promptly. He caught it and threw it back, along with seven of his own.

Sasuke swore and jumped out of the way. He got back in front of the tunnel and made four hand signs. "Fire Style:" he yelled, "Dragon Flame Jutsu!" A jet of flames in the shape of a dragon flared towards Sarin. The flames were a mixture of blue and red, an attempt at Fan the Flames. Sarin made rapid hand signs as the dragon approached. It struck him in a burst of steam. Once it cleared, Sarin stood there, panting. "Hidden Waterfall Style:" he yelled, "Water Blade!" A jagged sword of water formed in his hands. He made a sign and the water turned to ice.

Sasuke drew Raigas sword. Electricity jumped from it and on to it. Sasuke clashed with Sarin, the swords sharp and strong. A clink of metal rang out into the air. Sarin grinned and another ice sword materialized in his hand. He began beating down on Sasuke. Meanwhile, with just one sword, Sasuke was having a hard time blocking. Sarin smile and slashed upward, knocking the sword out of Sasukes hand. Sasuke turned around to see it fall into the dirt behind him. He felt a cold strip run down his face. He turned to see a blood red ice sword coming from his face.

Sasuke fell to his knees and clutched his face, which Sarin had barely grazed. It appeared that he stumbled on his way down to attack Sasuke, leaving only a small wound. Sasukes curse mark began leaking out, growing from his shoulder, to the elbow and knee of his right arm and leg. Sarin stood, and Sasuke turned on his Sharingan. He appeared under Sarin. He kicked him up into the air, and then followed promptly. Sasuke grabbed him and flipped Sarin upside down. He crossed his legs over Sarins face and held onto his legs. Sarin was slammed into the ground.

The sickening sound of Sarins neck being shattered sounded throughout the cave, and even outside. Sasuke jumped back and Sarin fell limp. Sasaku walked up to the body, then made a hand sign. The clone melted into water and a look of shock crossed Inos face. Sasuke didn't seem so surprised. Sarin jumped out of the bushes nearby at Sasaku. Sasaku turned around quickly. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he yelled, crossing the first to fingers on each hand. Nine Sasaku clones appeared, and each clone went after Sarin. _'Kumori Tora,'_ Sasaku said, _'I need to borrow your chakra! I will weaken the seal on the sword for a time until you give me enough!'_

The Kumori Tora chuckled in Sasakus head. _'__**As you wish, master...**__'_ Sasaku felt a dark energy pulsate through him. One of the clones got Sarin from behind in a full nelson hold. At this point, there were only two other clones and Sasaku. Each one of them made the same three hand signs. In the three Sasakus hands were a raging Chidori. Sarin began trying to break free of the hold. The swords gleamed as their black chakra flowed into the Chidoris, making it a deep black color. The Sasakus ran at Sarin, full speed. Each hand shot through Sarins torso.

The clones disappeared. Sasaku ripped his hand from Sarin. "Where did... you get that kind... of power?" Sarin choked out while coughing up blood. The ground was plastered red with the deep blood of Sarin, who's lower body was only connected to his upper body by two thin strips of flesh on his sides that Sasaku had left intact. He choked up another mouthful of blood and died right there. "Don't ever," Sasaku said darkly, "hurt any of my friends!" He stepped away, the first step splashing the puddle of blood, and the rest leaving dark red footprints.

He turned to Sasuke and Ino. "Come on." he said, "We can take our time going back to the village." He grinned at them, and they smiled back and followed slowly.

_To be continued..._


	34. Swords Origin

The trio of three walked slowly down the path back to Konoha. "That was an amazing feat of strength you pulled off back there," Sasuke said, "how'd you do it?" Sasaku thought the question over. Ino had already heard, and he thought Sasuke could keep a secret. He took the Kumori Tora from his waist. Unsheathing the black shining blade, a hiss echoing through the forest, he held it out for Sasuke to grab. Sasuke looked at him questioningly. "Just grab it, and everything will be explained." he inclined his head towards Ino, "You too."

Sasuke and Ino simultaneously grabbed the hilt of the sword, along with Sasaku. Instantly, all of their conscious merged together into the same black void. Sasaku, Sasuke, and Ino stood there, a giant gate in front of them. On the gate was a lock, and in the lock a key. The key had been turned slightly, and a dark power flowed from behind the gate. Sasaku walked up and turned the key back into a locked position. The Kumori Tora growled from the other side. "**Whom are they which you have brought before me?**" it said.

Sasuke unwaveringly stepped foreword. "Uchiha Sasuke," he said, "I was curious as to where Sasaku got his power from, and now I see that it was the sword." The Kumori Tora laughed. Sasaku grabbed the Demon Sword outside. A deep black light appeared between his hands. It shone on the Kumori Tora, revealing the black tiger as it was; frightening. Ino shuttered. "You mean to tell me this has been in your sword the whole time?" she said. Sasaku nodded. "Then," Sasuke said, "what's in the other sword?"

The Kumori Tora answered this one. "**It is a sacred power, with the ability to destroy even the Nine Tailed Fox that attacked your village.**" it said, "**But it can also make a demon much more powerful!**" Ino looked at the Kumori Tora questioningly. "How is that even possible?" she said, "For something to have so much power, it wouldn't be able to be contained in one sword!" The Kumori Tora let out a deep laugh in his throat. Sasuke, Ino, and Sasaku could only wait for the laugh to subside, it was so deep and powerful.

"**A master craftsman forged the Demon Sword and my sword to contain the powers,**" the Kumori Tora spoke, "**He is not known well, and lost his father in the attack of the Nine-Tailed Fox. He left his brother to go train the day after his brother's birth. His very brother was left to fend for himself for thirteen years, and the smith that crafted the swords has been on his own since the age of five. My soul had been trapped in the metal, and he forged it into this obsidian sword. He then made its twin to help it. Afterwards, he cast the swords into a tomb, where I was found by Mizuki and Hiro.**"

"Who was the smith that forged the sword?" Sasaku asked. The Kumori Tora remained completely silent. "Well, who was it?" Ino pressed. After a minute of silence, the Kumori Tora uttered the fateful word, "Suzaku..." Sasuke gasped and let go of the sword, as did Ino. They all came back into the world. Birds chirped overhead, and a creek was running nearby. Ino almost looked like she was going to throw up. Sasaku held the sword out in front of him. "I hold the sword of one who is probably the most skilled in battle," he muttered, "and I didn't even know it." Sasuke smiled, knowing now that he truly had an amazing master.

The trio began to walk again. Sasuke was looking ahead, not knowing what to think. "I never told you thanks," Ino said to Sasaku, "for when you saved me in the cave, did I?" Sasaku shrugged. "Don't worry 'bout it." he said with a smile. Ino smiled back and began remembering what all had happened. They all walked until they were at the gate. "We better go report on the mission. Sasuke smiled. They got to the Hokage mansion and spent about twelve minutes giving a record of what had happened since that morning.

They all left and Sasuke said goodbye before taking off to see Sakura. "See you later!" Sasaku beamed at Ino. She grabbed his hand before he left. He turned around to look at her. "You do deserve a thanks," she said, "you tended to my leg, protected me from Sarin, and saved me from the Water Dragon Jutsu. Thank you, for all of that..." She came in and kissed Sasaku on the cheek. She immediately pulled back and Sasaku stared into her eyes, both of them blushing.

Ino ran off without another word. Sasaku turned and stared in the direction she ran and lightly touched his cheek. A smile crossed his lips and he began to jump on all the roofs all the way back to his apartment. He clasped onto the roof above his window and swung in, right onto his bed. He went into the kitchen and took out a sandwich. After taking a bite, he begins to realize that a girl just liked him, and he kind of liked her back. He thinks of Karei and realizes she just caught him with her beauty.

All those girls Sasaku had wasted time on without even being able to learn their name, he couldn't believe it. Now he thought he might have found her. He set the swords into the case he kept them in and finished his dinner. He was on total cloud nine once he finally went to sleep. He thought of the feeling of her lips on his hot face, and then staring into her unrealistically mysterious eyes. Tomorrow, he would have to ask her out...

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"Who is your family?" Sasuke yelled, "And why didn't you tell me about them? And what about you being a master smith?" The roar of the waterfall seemed quiet to what Sasuke was yelling. Suzaku shook his head. "If I were to tell you," he said, "I want you to make a blood oath that you wont tell anyone." Sasuke pulled out a scroll and opened it on the ground. He used a kunai to cut his thumb, and then wrote on the scroll. It read: "I do swear on my life that I will not discuss the secret which is to be told to me now. Uchiha Sasuke." Suzaku read it and nodded. He made a hand sign, and the scroll rolled up and was sealed shut.

"My name," Suzaku said, "is not what I told you it was. Tsubahi is only my middle name. My full name is... Namikaze Suzaku!"

_To be continued..._


	35. Let's be Practical Here

**Hello boys and girls. I would like to introduce you to something rare in this fanfic. Yes, that is the wonderful world, of filler. Read and review. Also, I want you guys to check out my forum (.net/myforums/antire5/1736788/), and possibly answer the poll on my profile.**

Sasuke stared at Suzaku in awe. "Namikaze." he said, "That sounds so familiar, but I don't know where from." He sat thinking for a minute. A long time went by, the sun had fallen, and Sasuke was preparing dinner. He still couldn't remember where he'd heard it. The vegetables he was eating seemed to help his train of thought. He remembered the name Namikaze from a lesson back in the academy. It was a lesson about the Nine-Tailed Fox...

"You're the son of the Forth Hokage!" Sasuke just suddenly yelled, making Suzaku jump up in surprise. He caught his breath and nodded. "Then who's your mother?" Sasuke continued, "And what about your little brother?" Suzaku put a hand up for silence. "You will learn it all in due time," he said, "but you are right, my father was Namikaze Minato." Sasuke looked at Suzaku in shock, then sat down and quietly began eating again.

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The sun was slowly rising; it shone in Sasaku's eyes. He rubbed them and got up to stretch. His mind was running better than last night. _'It was probably just a friendly thank you kiss,'_ he thought to himself, _'nothing special.' _He sighed as he got up to get some breakfast. He was about to start getting ready when he remembered that it was still the weekend. _'Good,' _he thought, _'that mission took a lot out of me.'_ He slipped back into his bedroom and lay down, but once your already up, it's hard to get back to sleep.

Sasaku's doorbell rung once. He groaned and tried to find a reason to get up, but couldn't. It rung again, and he finally threw his feet over the edge of the bed. He made his way out of the room and into the T.V room. He opened the door. No one was outside, but a rush of water splashed on his head, followed by a bucket falling over on his head. He tore it off and was about to throw the bucket when he saw a note on it. He took it off and unfolded it once. On the inside, it said : _That's for my date with Karei! PS look up._

When Sasaku looked up he saw Naruto on the roof clinging to a paper bag. He dropped it and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sasaku stepped aside from the bag. It exploded when it hit the ground and an odd colored liquid blew in every direction. Sasaku swore as it sprayed all over him. He took in a whiff of air before holding his nose tight enough to hurt. _'That little son of a...'_ he thought, _'that was a skunks spray! How the heck did he collect that crap?!?'_ He stormed back in his apartment. An hour and a half later, he walked back out, fully equipped with everything but his swords.

"If it's a prank war you want," Sasaku said, "it's a prank war you'll get." He ran to the training field he knew Naruto would be at. He smiled as he saw Naruto practicing katas on the water. He made a hand sign and transformed into Sakura. "Hey, Naruto," he yelled, walking towards him, "those are some nice moves!" Naruto quickly whipped around. "Oh, Sakura, it's you." he said, "How long were you over there?" Sasaku shrugged. "Hey, Naruto," he said, "I want you to come to my house when you're done training, k?"

Naruto blushed. "O-okay..." he said. Sasaku winked at him and ran off. Naruto just stared after. Now Sasaku ran to Sakuras house. He transformed into Naruto and began throwing pebbles at Sakuras window. She opened it and saw Sasaku (who looked like Naruto) on her lawn. "Naruto," she said, "what are you doing here." I'm not going to say what happened, but I can describe it in two words: full moon. Sasaku ran off and hid in a tree across from Sakuras house.

Transforming into himself, Sasaku began casually walking by the house. Naruto rushed past him, causing him to spin around. "Hey! Watch it!" he yelled. Naruto didn't turn back, and instead went up to Sakuras front door and rang the doorbell. Sasaku slowed his pace to watch. Sakura opened the door. "Hey Sakura, sorry about before but you-" Naruto was punched straight across the face and was sent flying. He landed face first in the ground in front of Sasaku. Sasaku began laughing like crazy. "What'd you say to her?" he laughed.

Naruto pushed himself up and spat out some blood and a tooth. He pointed a finger at Sasaku. "This..." he said, shaking, "Means WAR!" Sasaku laughed and ran off. It was time to arm himself for this war. The day followed with so many practical jokes that got only more and more serious...

*************************

The first toilet Sasaku sat down on shot chocolate pudding onto the back of his pants.

Naruto was attacked by a raging flock of pigeons.

Sasaku ended up eating a scorpion in his salad.

Naruto hit a practice dummy that exploded with hot oil.

Sasaku got thrown into a pit of roses.

*************************

Naruto was hiding in the academy. He was panting hard. They were at it for the longest time. He ran into a classroom, and shut it. He then locked the door and sealed it tight with a paper seal. He turned the lights on. When he turned around, he saw a huge horde of skunks. _'No... sudden... movements...'_ Then a white powder fell from the ceiling on him. He tried his hardest to resist sneezing, but couldn't hold it much longer. He let out a sneeze.

Sasaku heard a scream come from inside the academy. He looked at the second story window that Naruto was in. A white flag waved in the window. Satisfied, he set off for home. As he looked at the sunset, he thought, _'I can't believe I just wasted a perfectly good Sunday...'_ He got to the apartment, ate a quick dinner, and got into. His mind wandered back to Ino as he slowly drifted to sleep.

_To be continued..._


	36. Reflection

Quick footsteps were heard going through all of Konoha as Sasaku ran as fast as he could to the Academy. He swore and bit into a rice ball. The two swords he had bounced against his right hip as he ran. He spun a corner and slammed into a poll. Stumbling back, he rubbed his forehead. _'Wait a minute...' _He swore as he turned back around. He ran as fast as he could to get back to his apartment. He burst in, grabbed his headband on the table, and ran out again.

He continued running down the street, then rested against the poll he'd slammed into. "What're you doing here?" a voice said behind him. Sasaku turned around to see Raiden. "Woke up... pant... late... gasp..." he panted out, getting a small smile from Raiden. "You do know that there is a way to go places much more fast and easy, right?" he asked. Sasaku slapped his headas he remembered. Raiden went on explaining it anyways. "It's fairly easy," Raiden continued, "You focus your chakra all throughout your body, and instantly focus it somewhere else. Your body will follow soon. It uses up little chakra, but more to go further distances. It requires a lot of focus, but is really effective."

Sasaku looked at Raiden blankly. "That would have helped a long time ago." Sasaku said, making a sign with his hands. Raiden walked away and Sasaku closed his eyes. He felt slightly drained as a puff of smoke encased him. It dissipated as he appeared outside the classroom door. He opened it and walked in. Ino wasn't there, and of course, neither was Sasuke. Naruto was in a back corner and everyone stayed at least two seats away from him. "Alright," Iruka said, "class starts now." Sasaku took a seat and began listening to the lesson.

Iruka was teaching a basic medical ninjutsu. This was one that healed small cuts and bruises, and used up little chakra. It was simple though, and could easily be deployed in battle. That was the first half of the class before they were let out for an hour at noon. Sasaku went to a small sushi bar for lunch. When he walked in he saw Ino sitting in the corner. He walked up to her. Her foot was wrapped up professionally and she had a crutch leaning on the wall next to her.

"I didn't see you at the Academy today." Sasaku said, "How's your leg doin'?" Ino turned in surprise to look at him. She relaxed a little when she saw it was Sasaku. "Oh, I'm doing fine," she said, "My dad just wanted me to take it easy today." Sasaku laughed, "You picked a bad day to miss," he said, "we learned some medical ninjutsu today." The two laughed for a while and then Sasaku said, "Get whatever you want, I'm buying."

"Oh, no, you don't to do that." she said. Sasaku smiled at her. "Don't worry," he said, "I want to." The two ate there lunch and laughed and had a great time. After nearly three-quarters of an hour, Sasaku paid and went back to the Academy. _'Looks like rumors are already going around.'_ Sasaku thought, looking around at all the girls who looked at him with disappointment, longing, confusion, and even fury. He sighed and got to the classroom.

The second half of the day was spent on high caliber taijutsu, and the different forms of it. Sasaku wasn't doing so hot in the lesson. All his taijutsu was freeform, not any specific style. Lee, however, seemed to know more about the subject than the teacher himself. Finally they were let free. Sasaku rubbed his sore muscles and walked back to the apartments with Naruto. Naruto's head was hung down, as if he were in deep thought. "What are you wondering about?" Sasaku asked.

Naruto sighed. "There's this girl I like," he said, "but I don't know if I'll have the guts to ask her out." Sasaku groaned. "After what happened last time," he said, "I doubt Karei will-"

"I'm not talking about Karei"

Sasaku stared at Naruto in shock. "Is it Sakura then?"

"I'm not going to say, but I suddenly have strange feelings welling up inside me when I see her. I realized that I think I've liked her all along. But I don't know how to go about it." He looked at Sasakus eyes. "This is the first time I've ever been this nervous. I don't know what to do. Help me, please."

Sasaku sighed. Then he smiled. "Warning for you, don't be yourself." He let out a laugh. Naruto remained silent. "Alright, seriously, just be natural around her. Ask her if she would like to have lunch with you tomorrow. Talk with her and just act like a good friend." Sasaku smiled. "And if it's the same girl I like, you're dead." He was, of course, thinking of Ino. Naruto laughed like a madman. "I've seen your taste in women! You're the second most shallow person I know!"

"And who might be first?" Sasaku laughed.

"You know that Ino girl in class, right?"

Sasakus eye twitched. He fought back the urge to punch Naruto across the face. "Well, see ya!" Naruto said, running off. Sasaku cracked his knuckles, then thought for a second. _'If what Naruto says is true, then she probably doesn't like __ME__, just Sasaku...'_ He continually thought about this as he wandered aimlessly through Konoha. He was passing the weapons store when something caught his eye. He looked to see armor that would fit right under clothes. He shook the image off and began walking again, thinking about what Naruto had said.

Sasaku turned back around. He walked up to the window with the armor. It looked durable and lightweight. There were places for the joints to move comfortably. He considered the mission he'd only just got back from, and knew there would be harder ones he could die in. He walked into the store and came back out soon enough wearing the armor. His clothes hid it perfectly. He walked back down the street, when he suddenly saw a familiar face. The face saw him too and they both tensed up. Sasaku clenched his fists as the man smiled.

"Sasaku..."

"Horo..."

_To be continued..._


	37. Family

**Just curious, I want to know if that last ending caught anyone off guard. PM me if it did. Please do. I'm seriously curious about it. The guy that's helping me write this was surprised by it. For crying out loud, I surprised myself!**

Slowly slipping his hand to the hilt of his sword, Sasaku glared angrily at Horo, who was but a few meters away. Horo closed his eyes and began laughing. The people walking down the street stopped and stared at the two of them. They began to back away. Horo pulled out a Desert Eagle and pointed it at Sasaku. "You actually followed me?" he said, "That's just to rich! Now I can kill you, just like your pathetic mother!" Sasaku whipped his swords out.

"I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR DAMN HEAD OFF!!!" he yelled. He had the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako in his eyes. He ran at Horo. Horo fired off seven shots in rapid succession. Sasaku jumped over the spray, and all of the villagers ran away from the fight. Horo loaded in another clip and started shooting at Sasaku while he was in the air. Sasaku deflected the bullets with his swords. The black chakra of the Kumori Tora oozed out of them. Horo smiled and dodged seven swipes from Sasaku before kicking him in the chest.

Sasaku flew back into a wall and coughed up blood. He was on his hands and knees, looking at the ground, panting. Horo laughed and pulled out an M4. Sasaku looked up as Horo cocked the gun. "Well," Horo said, "see you in Hell!" Sasaku growled. This was the entire reason he'd come to Konoha. He focused all of his chakra into the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako and blocked each bullet as it came. The ammunition fell to the ground in small little crunched pieces of brass. He was standing in a puddle of them before the firing stopped.

Horo snickered when he looked at Sasaku. "Lord Orochimaru-sama was right," he laughed, "guns are pointless when you have ninja." That was when he loaded another clip into the M4. "That is why he blessed me with so much ammunition. It's a cheap and powerful technique that uses no chakra." Another barrage of ammo came at Sasaku. About twenty bullets hit him. A puff of smoke covered his body, and a log was there in his place. Horo turned around with two Desert Eagles and shot the ten shadow clones Sasaku had made.

After they were gone, over a thousand shadow clones appeared. Seemingly pulling them from nowhere, Horo had two Uzis in each hand. He pulled all four triggers at once and thinned out the "army". Once those were out of ammo, he flipped out the M4 again and shot down the rest of them. Only one Sasaku still remained, and he was gasping for breath. Horo turned to him and pulled the trigger. Sasaku squeezed his eyes shut and heard the sound of metal hitting metal. He opened his eyes again to see Horo with a look of confusion. Horo shot more rounds at him and each one bounced off the armor.

Swearing, Horo retreated and jumped over the wall surrounding the village. Sasaku panted and dropped to the ground. He lifted his shirt up to see that the armor was still perfectly intact. That was when Sasaku saw a Desert Eagle Horo had dropped. There was one bullet left in it. _'I swear, this bullet will be the last thing going through Horo's mind!'_ He took the gun and walked back home. There he dropped off the gun and ran to the Hokage mansion.

Sasaku burst into the room that Tsunade was in. "-fine, you may-" she stopped when she saw Sasaku. Suzaku was facing her, a dead serious look on his face. "I-I'm sorry," Sasaku said, "I should've knocked." He proceeded to go back out but Tsunade held up a hand that signaled him to stay. "It must be important if you burst in that quickly, what is it?" she asked. Sasaku explained the situation with Horo showing up in the village. "...and so I would like to request permission to get a couple of shinobi for a seek-and-destroy mission."

"You said that he mentioned something about Orochimaru?" Suzaku said, "Something about him saying Orochimaru-sama?" Sasaku nodded, and a wide grin crossed Suzakus face. "Pack your stuff," he said, "you're comin' with me. I'll drop by your apartment later." Sasaku's mouth dropped and he smiled and ran out the door. Tsunade looked at Suzaku with disgust. "I gave you no permission to bring him on that mission." she said, "If you are going to assassinate the Otokage, then he will only slow you down. I can't approve it!"

"Don't worry," Suzaku said, "I'll keep it under control." Tsunade sighed and nodded. Then she looked up. "I'm putting Naruto and Sasuke with you too." Suzaku shrugged and proceeded to walk out. "Suzaku," Tsunade said as Suzaku reached the doorway, "Suzaku... He is much older now, and didn't know anything about his father or mother. I know you've refused the past, but he's older now, and I think it's time you told him the truth..." Suzaku frowned and punched the doorway. All of his knuckles cracked loudly, and a drop of blood ran down the frame.

"Alright," he said, pulling his hand away, "I'll tell him. While I'm gone, I want the village to know who I am, and while your at it, ready a room here in the mansion. When I come back, I think I'll stay a while." He left and went to pick up his squad for the mission. Suzaku decided to stop by Naruto's place first. He rang the doorbell and Naruto came to the door. He was fully prepared and ready to go. "All right!" he yelled, "It's time for the mission! This is going to be awesome! Believe it!"

Suzaku sighed. "Naruto, can I talk to you for a bit?" he said. Naruto looked at him with a bit of surprise. "Uh, sure, why not." Naruto replied. Suzaku stepped in and Naruto put his pack down before sitting on the edge of a chair at his dinner table. Suzaku stepped up to Naruto. He rubbed his temples, trying to figure out how to word it. "Naruto," he said, "you grew up not knowing any of your family. You were alone your whole life. Didn't you ever wonder who your family was?" Naruto shrugged. "Naruto, I'm your brother."

_To be continued..._


	38. New Mission, Old Enemies

"What?" Naruto stared at Suzaku in absolute shock. He dropped to the ground and stared up at Suzaku. "Why did you hide it from me for so long?" Suzaku shrugged blankly. "Then, that means you know who my father and mother were?" Suzaku nodded. Narutos eyes lit up at that. "Well, who are they?" he asked, "Are they still alive? And why was the fox sealed inside of me? Did they leave you and me after that? Wh-" Suzaku held up a hand for silence.

"Mom was a beautiful woman." Suzaku said, "Her name was Uzumaki Kushina." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out her picture. (It's hard to describe her, so here's the pic: ) Naruto stared at it in awe. "Then," he said, "who was my, our, father?" Suzaku smiled. He began to chuckle a little. "Our father," he said, "was Namikaze Minato, Yondame Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves!"

Narutos jaw dropped. He clenched his fist and smiled. "That's..." he studdered, "I couldn't have asked for a better father, believe it!" Suzaku smiled. "Mom died when I was four," he said, "giving birth to you. Then dad sacrificed his life to seal the fox within you. I left you in the care of the Konoha orphanage. I wanted to get stronger to become like dad. For the past thirteen years, I've studied dad's notes and training myself to become stronger. But you, you have the most of dad's chakra running through your blood. That is why the only element you can master is wind. Just like dad..."

The two sat in silence for a minute. "Well," Naruto said, breaking the silence, "we better go get the other two, right niisan?" Suzaku smiled when he heard niisan and nodded. They walked out and Suzaku said, "Grab Sasaku and meet me and Sasuke by the front gate." Naruto nodded and Suzaku took off. Naruto rung Sasakus doorbell. After a moment, Sasaku came to the door. "Ready to go?" Naruto asked. Sasaku nodded, and the two took off for the gate.

They met up with Suzaku and Sasuke and took off. "So, what exactly is the mission we are going on?" Sasaku asked, "And will I be able to go one-on-one with Horo?" Suzaku laughed. "That will be an option for you to take." he said, "As for the rest of us, we'll be going to attempt an assassination." Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. "Assassination?" Naruto shuddered, "Of whom?" Suzaku laughed.

"I'm sure you've heard of him." he said, "Pale, long black hair, obviously gay-"

"Why are we trying to assassinate Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked. The other two turned to him with a weird expression. Suzaku smiled. "I'm the one trying to end the war between Konoha and Oto." he said, "Then someone else may become Otokage and hopefully bring peace to the lands." Sasasku shrugged and continued walking. The other two stayed glued in place. "What's wrong?" Sasaku asked, "Why are you afraid of one man?"

"That one man was Hell in the chunnin exams!" Sasuke said. Naruto looked at Sasuke. "I don't remember no Orochimaru from the exams." Naruto said, "Unless you mean when he killed Sandame." Everyone went silent. "I still don't know who he is!" Naruto continued, "All I know is he was powerful enough to beat the old man. And that takes some skill, believe it!" Sasuke thought back to the Forest of Death. Naruto couldn't have remembered, most of the fight he was either gone or passed out. Sasuke was unsure if Naruto even knew the full story behind Sasukes curse mark.

"Well," Suzaku said, "all I can say is prepare for the worst." The others nodded and began walking again. They walked in complete silence, endlessly, rarely stopping. They traveled like this for a few days. The days became shorter, getting colder and colder. They continued traveling towards Oto. Each of them had mixed feelings about what was going to happen, and they all thought of different things as they traveled.

Suzaku had spent his whole life trying to become Otokage. But now, he had bigger and better plans. They still required him to assassinate Orochimaru, but for a different cause. _'I could become the temporary Otokage for the time being,'_ he thought, _'then it will be easier for me to get what I came for!'_ He contemplated on this the whole trip, changing his mind every day, thinking of reasons why he should or shouldn't.

_'It is almost scary that we're going to see Orochimaru again...'_ Sasuke thought. He wanted to avoid him at all costs, but now that wasn't an option. He would stroke Taka on his shoulder and look into his eyes for advice. Sasuke was scared out of his mind the last time the two met. He was barely able to get a victory over Orochimaru. And besides, that year ago, Sasuke was so obsessed with getting Sasuke to come with him. Why?

Naruto was always staring at the ground. _'I've had a brother this whole time,'_ he thought, _'and didn't even know it. If only I could have known my father or mother. Man, dad must have had to beat guys off of mom with a stick.'_ He snickered at that thought. He only wished he could learn more about his family. When he thought about it, Suzaku kind of looked like the Fourth Hokage face on the mountain...

Sasaku was excited and scared at the same time. He put a hand on the gun in his pocket. _'I will finally avenge my mom!'_ he said, _'Horo is going straight to Hell once I'm done!'_ He imagined himself seeing Horo, and then blasting his brains out with the last shot in the Desert Eagle. He rubbed a finger over the cool metal under his shirt. He was really glad the armor was bullet proof. But could it hold out through the battle that was soon to occur? He could only hope...

_To be continued..._

**Man, I actually like where this saga is going. Just wait though, it will turn out much differently then you expect. Even if you do know what to expect, I guarantee that you're wrong. Man, if you are fans of certain characters, that is going to change real soon. Read and review!**


	39. Otokage Mansion

_It has been three days since we left the village. We have stopped at few towns, and traveled at what Suzaku called a slow pace. He says that we will be reaching Oto soon. I'm both nervous and excited. I hope everything goes okay. I couldn't bear to see any of my friends killed by Orochimaru. We caught wind in one of the towns that there was a new Kazekage. Naruto thought it was great, and he and Sasuke told me about Garaa. Suzaku took it as a sign that change I imminent, and that some of the Kages will change in a short time. Otokage I can understand, but other then that, no other Kage comes into mind. Raikage maybe, but nothing that will affect me..._

*************************

"Hold it!" Suzaku said, "This is it." Sasaku looked around, but all he saw was forest. Sasuke and Naruto thought the same. Suzaku made a hand sign, then said, "Fire Style Jutsu!" He blew a small flame at a tree and the tree instantly smoldered out. Suzaku brushed away the ashes to reveal a trapdoor in the dirt, right where roots should have been. "Alright," Suzaku said, "It's going to get really difficult from here on out. Follow close, and listen to everything I say! This mission is of the utmost importance. Once we get in, Naruto and me will go find Orochimaru. Sasuke, you go with Sasaku to find Horo."

They all nodded and Suzaku jumped through the open door. The other three followed quickly. Below the ground was a room with a bloody smear on the wall. The room narrowed to a crawlspace, in which the squad made their way through, one after another. When they reached the end of the crawl space, Suzaku said, "Stay here until I tell you to. If anything goes wrong, run." He jumped down onto the floor from the crawlspace. The space appeared to be a vent. Sasaku inched foreword and saw a bedroom. There was a good quality living quarters there; a desk, a lamp, and a bed. On the desk were piles of medical papers.

Suzaku walked over and shuffled through the papers. He looked at each one, and put them down disappointed every time. He was in the middle of the third pile when the handle on the door began to move. Suzaku held his staff at his side. The door opened and a white haired boy with a ponytail and glasses walked in. He wore a disturbing amount of purple, and looked pretty nerdy altogether. He saw Suzaku and his eyes widened. "Suzaku?" he said, "What the devil are you doing here?"

"Ah, Kabuto," Suzaku calmly replied, "so you live in my old room now? Not surprising, you were next to a genius when I left." At the word 'Kabuto', Naruto started freaking out and tried to frantically crawl over Sasaku. He made such a fuss it caught Kabuto's attention and got a sigh out of Suzaku. "Way to blow your cover Naruto..." he said. Then he motioned for them to come out. Sasaku fought to get out and flopped on his face as Naruto pushed him over the edge. Naruto jumped out and pointed a finger at Kabuto. Kabuto chuckled and made a hand sign. Before anyone could see, Sasuke was behind Kabuto and had knocked him out.

"Show off... (-_-u)" Naruto said. Suzaku shushed him and slipped out the door. The others followed him and they crept down a long winding hallway. Once they reached a fork, they split up without saying a word. Naruto and Suzaku walked down the other hall, and came to a door. Filled with curiosity, Naruto peeked in. There, he saw a man that appeared to be hooked up to tons of medical equipment. He had white hair and had a cover over his eyes. "The last thing you want to do is wake him up." Suzaku said, surprising Naruto. He let out a small exclamation and the man stirred. Swearing, Suzaku put a hand on Naruto's mouth.

It was too late though. The man sat up, detaching everything hooked up to him. He pulled the cover off of his eyes. He had two red circles on his forehead. "Naruto!" Suzaku yelled, "Run!" Naruto ran down the hall back towards the fork. Suzaku stared at the man. "Kimimaro," he said, "I don't want any trouble!" Kimimaro looked at Suzaku with disgust. "You came back to take revenge on Orochimaru." he said too calm to be normal, "You're angry with him because of what happened back then." Suzaku took the staff and made a fighting stance. At first he thought a spear would be better, but then he thought it wouldn't make much of a difference because of Kimimaro's "ability".

A bone protruded from Kimimaros baggy sleeve. Suzaku made a few hand signs. "Ninja Art:" he said, "Fan the Flames!" He readied for the battle as small flames began to spin around him before flickering out. The flames got bigger and lasted longer after a few seconds, until Suzaku had a wall of fire spinning around him. "Fire Style:" he soon yelled, "Fire Clone Jutsu!" The flames cleared and four clones of Suzaku appeared there. Kimimaro held a hand towards the clones, and small projectiles shot from his fingers at high speed. One of the clones was obliterated and disappeared in a brilliant blue flame.

The other clones came in to attack. Kimimaro easily beat them away with the bone sword sticking out of his arm. One was able to leap onto his back and grab him, but giant bone spikes pierced him from Kimimaros back. Suzaku swore as he saw the flames from the clone did little damage. Kimimaro came in with the sword, attacking with all his might. Suzaku blocked with the staff, but the metal snapped like wood. Suzaku kicked Kimimaro back, without doing much damage though. "Is that all?" Kimimaro said, "I thought Orochimaru once wanted your body. It would be a waste of that jutsu though."

Suzaku growled. "Shut up!" he screamed, "Just shut up, bone bag!" Kimimaro took a stance with the sword and began twirling it around him. Then he threw it at Suzaku, who barely dodged. When the bone hit the wall, it burst into loads of spike that would kill anything that was to close. The Earth curse mark on Kimimaros chest began to grow a little, but stopped halfway across his body. Suzaku swore at Kimimaro, and came in to attack him...

_To be continued..._


	40. Horo

Sasaku heard screams of rage and battle cry out from somewhere else in the mansion. He shuddered. This place was beginning to freak him out. Sasuke just stared foreword as they walked. He seemed to be listening and waiting for the slightest threat. He suddenly spun around, looked up, and blew a huge burst of fire at the ceiling. Sasaku jumped up. "What didja do that for?!" he yelled. Suddenly, a body dropped from the ceiling. It was limp, and horribly burnt. There was a Sound Village headband melted onto its forehead.

A whole group of ninjas suddenly sprang up. Sasuke and Sasaku got back to back and pulled out their weapons. Sasaku crossed his swords in a defensive way. The ninjas formed a circle around the two of them. Sasaku smiled. "Bet I'll take out more than you." he said. A chuckle emitted from Sasuke. "You're on!" The two lashed out at the ninjas. Sasuke hammered a guy in the nose, then turned and smashed two more people's heads together. Sasaku slashed straight through two guys. He got blood in his eyes in the process, and slashed the Kumori Tora towards any noise as he rubbed them off.

Saskue saw this and hammered a-man-who-was-after-Sasaku's head into the ground. They both stopped for a moment when they heard the sickening noise of his skull crunching. That was when Sasaku realized he was taking the lives of other humans... for his own personal need. When he was on an assigned mission, he had to be put into those situations. But this was cold-blooded murder for his own selfish desires. He'd even joked about it. Sasaku only started defending, but never attacking.

Minutes on end went by before Sasuke noticed that no progress was being made. He looked at Sasaku and swore when he saw what was going on. He did a back flip over a few men and landed next to Sasaku. Then he grabbed the Demon Sword out of his hand. Then he elbowed Sasaku in the face, knocking him back. Sasaku fell back with the Kumori Tora still in his hand. Within a few seconds, Sasuke had killed all but one of the ninjas. He picked the ninja up by the shirt and ripped off the mask.

"Where is a man named Horo?" Sasuke asked, then after not receiving and answer, said, "Answer me!" He held the sword up to the man's neck. The man began panting and gasping for breath. "Just down the hall," the man said, "the second door on the right you see!" Sasuke knocked him out and walked over to Sasaku. "Why did you just freeze up like that?" he yelled, "Why didn't you fight back?!?" There was a ton of anger in his voice. Sasaku just stood up. He looked Sasuke in the eyes, then snatched his sword back.

"I don't like the prospect of it!" he said, "It's murder, to kill all these people for your own desires! It is wrong no matter what, but sometimes it can't be avoided. If I hadn't requested that mission before, then I wouldn't have to kill all these innocent people to kill one man! Why is it that ninja are nothing but tools for killing?!" He was out of breath when he finished, and Sasuke thought that Sasaku might have a point. He wouldn't know, however, because this was just another mission for him.

"But all these are not innocent," Sasuke said, "They are working for Orochimaru and also protecting Horo." Sasaku thought for a second, then nodded, and they walked down the hall again. Sasaku pulled out the Desert Eagle when he saw the door. He cocked it, and then kicked in the door. He and Sasuke burst in the room. Sasaku pointed the gun at the figure lying in the bed. The figure turned around, revealing it was Horo. He smiled when he saw Sasaku. "So, you came for me."

"Why wouldn't I? We still have a score to settle."

"My, my, is that my old Desert Eagle? I knew I lost it, but I never imagined it wind up with you."

"Yeah, I guess I was lucky. There was only one bullet left in it. But I swear, that bullet will be the last thing passing through your mind!"

"Pretty big talk, for one so weak."

Sasaku said nothing. Then he told Horo to stand up. "I want to see you beg for mercy!" Sasaku said. When Horo did nothing, Sasaku pulled the trigger. A giant bang exploded in the small room, and Horos head burst into blood. He fell to the ground, and Sasaku tossed the gun onto his back. Then Horos body was engulfed in a puff of smoke. "What?!?" Sasuke and Sasaku yelled at the same time. Then a log appeared in the place of his body. Well, it looked like a log, but it was hard to see past the thick layer of paper bombs covering the object.

"Holy s-!" The bombs went off in a great explosion. The entire mansion was in ruins. Everywhere, at random places, people were shoving slabs of the building off of them. Sasuke pushed a chunk of the roof off of him and Sasaku. Sasaku gasped, then coughed and choked. Blood leaked down form the corner of his mouth. His scar on his face had cracked open at the top, and a stream of blood ran from under his headband into his eye. He wiped it off.

A yell and a crash echoed from behind Sasuke. He whirled around and saw huge chunks of the roof go flying in every direction. A spew of blood and stray body parts flung out as well, along with a butt load of odd shaped bones. In the middle of the explosion was Suzaku, with blood on his sleeves and a white staff in his hands. Sasaku looked closer and saw it was a human spine. "You find him?" Suzaku called over with a laugh. Horo laughing and appearing in a tree with an M16 in one hand and an AA12 in the other was what answered him.

By now everyone had either run off screaming, run off for freedom, or lazily walked away. Suzaku eyed the guns cautiously. Sasuke took a step foreword, but Sasaku put a hand in front of him for him to stop. "No, this is my fight! Don't interfere!" he said. Sasuke nodded in response and went back to Suzaku. "Now where is Orochimaru?!" Suzaku shouted in frustration. Suddenly, his face went dark. "Naruto." he said, looking around frantically, "Naruto! Where's Naruto?!?" A pile of rubble moved up, and Naruto crawled from it. The fabric on his headband had torn and his shirt was horribly ripped. Suzaku ran up and embraced him.

Sasaku and Horo stared at each other. Not moving, nor making any notion of attacking. They stood there, the intensity growing. A bead of sweat formed on Sasakus right temple. It ran down the side of his face, and dripped to the ground. _Plit._ An explosion of noise went off as Horo unleashed the whole clip in the AA12 in a few seconds. Sasaku shielded his face with his arms and all the pellets deflected off his armor. He jumped up and drew both swords. Then he dove towards Horo.

_To be continued..._

**I apologize if anyone thinks that this story is taking to long. I like to keep the chapters short so I can update more often. Besides, it starts making people really wonder how it's going to end up. Read and review!**


	41. Finally Dead

"Holy crap! I remember you!" Sasuke yelled, pointing towards Horo. Sasaku stopped abruptly and turned to face Sasuke. Horo kept the gun pointed at Sasaku, then looked at Sasuke and said, "Oh yeah, you're that guy from in front of the mine, huh?" Sasaku looked back and forth between the two. "You mean to tell me," Sasaku said, his voice cracking, "that while I was trapped in a musky mine with Ino, you ran into the reason I became a Genin."

"And the connection is made." Suzaku said sarcastically, "Now hurry up and kill him! Isn't that the reason you came with me?!" Sasaku stared at Sasuke. "Why the heck didn't you tell me about him?' he said, calmly. Sasuke shrugged. "After Sarin I kinda forgot about him." he said. Horo looked at Sasuke with disgust. "So you mean to tell me," he said, "that you forgot me because of some B rank criminal. Man, I'm not even ranked that's how good I am!"

"How does that make you good?" Naruto asked. Horos eye twitched and he pointed a 44. at him. His M16 was still on Sasaku. "Hey," Suzaku said, "shoot him, it's your head!" Horo moved the 44. to Suzaku. Suzkau grinned and threw his head back. "You really don't want to do that." he said. Horo turned the M16 to Suzkau and the 44. to Sasaku. Except when he looked Sasaku wasn't there.

"Oh, sn-!" He was cut off as two swords stuck out from his chest. Horo dropped the guns and hung limp. The swords were pulled out, and Horo fell to the ground, revealing Sasaku behind him. Sasaku stepped foreword and began walking towards the others. They met him halfway. "Good plan," Sasaku said, "I'd have never thought of a distraction like that." Sasuke scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, ha ha," he said, "because, um... that was totally planned, heh heh."

"Aw, shut up Sasuke!" Naruto said, "I can tell that was just a random outburst. I know, I've had tons of experiences with them." Suddenly an explosion of noise burst out. A gunshot. Naruto grabbed his left shoulder and screamed in pain. Sasaku quickly whipped around and saw Horo on the ground holding the 44. His arm shook as he aimed it right at Sasakus head. Suddenly, Suzaku was over by him, looking really pissed off. He grabbed Horo by the hair and launched him up into the air, following promptly. He did multiple front flips, building momentum until he did a dropping axe kick onto Horos stomach. Horo at first just coughed up blood, but as he fell, his body split into two bloody halves.

Suzaku, who was still in the air, held his hand out. A Rasengan formed in it. As he came down towards Horos upper half, the Rasengan began to get flames spinning around with it. He struck Horos head, and a wave of dirt and wind flew in every direction from the point of impact. Then Suzaku jumped up and pulled out a scroll. He bit his thumb and wiped the blood on the scroll. A giant hammer was summoned from the scroll. Then Suzaku came down with the hammer, right on Horos disfigured face. A loud crunch rang out. Suzaku brought the hammer over his head, and back down twice more.

All three of the boys' mouths dropped open as Suzaku made his way back. He held the hammer on his shoulder. "Let me see the shot." Suzaku said. Naruto moved his hand. The wound was completely healed. "Crap!" Suzaku said, "That's what I was afraid of!" Naruto looked at him questioningly. "It's healed," he said, "what's wrong with that?" Sasuke then said, "Better question, how the crap do you heal so frikin' fast?!" Everyone went dead silent. They all stared at Sasuke in horror.

Naruto was the one to break the silence. "The same reason your brother was after me..." he said. Sasaku turned to Sasuke. "I didn't know you had a brother." he said.

"You wanna know about him?" Sasuke replied, "Class S in the Bingo book, filed under Akatsuki. Why was Itachi after you?" he redirected his speech towards Naruto.

"Aka-what?" Sasaku interrupted, trying to help Naruto avoid spilling the beans. But he sincerely didn't know what the Akatsuki was.

"You're kidding right?" Sasuke said in a really teenager-ish tone.

"Hey Sasuke," Suzaku said, "go explain it over there, I need to pull the bullet out of Naruto." Sasaku began walking away, and Sasuke put his hand on his forehead, threw his head back, and sighed as he ran his hand over his hair. Then he followed Sasaku over to a tree. "You know what I just realized?" Sasaku said, "We haven't seen hide nor tail of this Orochimaru guy, have we?" Sasuke thought for a moment, then nodded. He began looking around. A minute went by, and shouts began coming from Naruto.

Sasaku pulled out some earplugs, and then offered some to Sasuke. He accepted, and then asked, "Why do you carry around earplugs anyways?" Sasaku had already put his in, so he didn't hear. He dozed off for about fifteen minutes before a cold rush ran down his spine. He opened his eyes and saw Sasuke staring in absolute fear at something. He was shaking badly, and Sasaku was almost afraid to even look. That's when he saw him. He was pale, with long black hair and purple under his eyes. More than anything, he looked like a snake, especially his eyes.

"Orochimaru..." Suzaku said softly. He'd just finished tending to Narutos wound. Orochimaru stood on the other side of the shattered mansion, with a creepy smile on his face. "Suzaku, you have returned." he said, his voice sounding beyond scary, it made him seem like he was mad, "Have you decided to let me have your body. It's too late for that though; I've already found another host. It was a shame that you left; I needed four bodyguards to equal your strength that you gave. They have been, ended, I should say, by that boy behind you."

Orochimaru leaned a little so he could get a better view of Sasuke. "It is amazing," he said, licking his lips, "that he could take on all four of them. Sasuke turned down my offer to train under me. So he simply killed the messengers. But enough of that, what is the purpose of your visit Suzaku?" Suzaku clenched his fists. "You know dang well why I'm here!" he yelled, "Your rat meat!"

_To be continued..._

**Wait a minute... don't snakes eat rats?**

**...**

**Read and review!**


	42. Uzumaki Namikaze Barrage

Silence ruled as a slight breeze messed up Suzaku's long blonde hair. He took in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out. A creepy grin crossed Orochimarus face, and it slowly got wider. He began to shake, and he started laughing as his eyes dilated. The laughter got louder, and more excited. Orochimaru threw his head back and laughed even louder. "You're going to kill me?" he laughed, "That's rich! When I last saw you you weren't a match for Kabuto. And you think you can kill me?! *Fufufu!" Suzaku growled and dropped the hammer. Then he vanished and appeared right behind Orochimaru, and launched a punch at his face.

Orochimaru ducked under it, then punched at Suzakus stomach. Suzaku jumped back, but snakes flew out of Orochimarus sleeve. One bit Suzaku, but he was replaced by a log in a puff of smoke. "So, Suzaku," Orochimaru said, "you still only have the same skill as before. I was hoping for some kind of challenge." Suzaku appeared behind Orochimaru and slashed the Kumori Tora at him. Sasakus eyes widened and he felt the scabbard that the sword should have been in. The blade was missing, and only the Demon Sword remained.

Still with the same smile, Orochimaru jumped back and pulled a katana out of his mouth. "Come on, boy," he said, "let us do battle, as we've done before. It has been ages since these swords last met!" Suzaku growled, then leapt at Orochimaru. A noise like no other screeched out when the blades struck. Then Suzkau jumped back, and grasped the hammer from before, seemingly pulling it from nowhere. He held it in the left hand, and the sword in the right. He came down on Orochimaru, and smashed the area where he was. The hammer then disappeared, and Suzaku dove into the cloud of dust he'd raised.

Another clang of steel rang out. Then more and more. No one could see what was going on because of the dust. The swords hit, but as they hit, they seemed to make a melody. Sasuke noticed this and quickly whipped out a scroll and began writing. Naruto looked over Sasukes shoulder to see what it was. "There's no time for that, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, "We should be worried about the fight!" Sasuke brushed him off and wrote down more of the notes. He made a revision here and there, and in a few minutes, he'd completed another song.

The clashing suddenly stopped. The dust moved away, and revealed two figures standing, holding their swords at the ready. Suzaku stood, both hands on the Kumori Tora, and Orochimaru had one hand on his blade. The other arm was badly cut, from just above the elbow. Blood leaked from it, pouring like rain onto the ground. Then Suzaku jumped at Orochimaru. Orochimaru made hand signs and planted a hand on the puddle of blood. Suzaku's eyes widened as he realized what was going on. He stopped abruptly, and the ground started to shake.

The shaking was so violent, Naruto and Sasaku fell. Suzaku glared at Orochimaru, but his face couldn't hide the pure horror. He swore, then dove at Orochimaru at full speed. He tackled him to the ground, but was promptly kicked away. The Kumori Tora spun through the air, then stuck into the ground between Sasakus feet. He was about to toss it back, but Sasuke put an arm in front of him. "I can tell," he said, "Suzaku-sama doesn't want the sword. If he did, he'd never have let it go." Sasaku stared at Sasuke, then nodded. He then watched as Suzaku attacked Orochimaru again. The two were grappling on the ground, when Suzkau was sent flying up.

The ground was still shaking, and a coffin slowly began to rise from under the puddle of blood. Suzaku swore, then threw loads of weapons at it. He pulled out a scroll and twirled it around him. Many different weapons shot from it and struck the coffin. It continued to rise. "It's no use," Orochimaru laughed, "I've made an advancement on the jutsu. It takes longer to complete, but it cannot be stopped by anyone! Not even that foolish third Hokage could stop it now!" Naruto clenched his fists, as did Suzaku. "Shut up!" they both yelled, "He was like a grandfather to me, and I'll never forgive you for killing him!" Then Naruto got on all fours and ran at Orochimaru, the Kyubi's chakra leaking from him.

Suzaku charged towards him as well. He and Naruto hit towards Orochimaru, but only hit the ground. Orochimaru was further away from them, and Suzaku and Naruto stood side by side. They both extended their hands back, and a Rasengan formed between them. Sasaku and Sasuke stared at the sight in awe, as a flame began to encase the Rasengan, along with the red chakra from the Nine-Tailed Fox. It suddenly increased in size and glowed a brilliant blue and orange.

Orochimaru barely dodged it, then avoided a swipe from Naruto, followed by a punch from Suzaku. He was missed by a variety of attacks from the two of them, and never had a chance to even try to land a single blow. He looked at Naruto, then smiled, finding an opportunity. He grabbed Narutos hair and swung him around at Suzaku. They both fell back, but Naruto instantly jumped up and attacked Orochimaru. Orochimaru blocked it, but was hammered across the face by Suzakus fist.

He was sent flying over the damaged mansion, and Naruto appeared above him. He brought a dropping axe to Orochimarus face. As Orochimaru fell to the ground, Suzaku punched him sideways. Then Naruto hit him in the gut with an arm thrust. "Uzumaki-" he yelled. Suzaku stopped Orochimaru from falling to the ground by kicking him into the air with a similar kick to Lees. "Namikaze-" he yelled. Then he and Naruto got above Orochimaru. They did another Rasengan together, and hammered Orochimaru in the face with it. "BARRAGE!!!" the two of them yelled.

Orochimaru spun and slammed into the ground. Suzaku and Naruto landed, and the red chakra faded. Orochimaru struggled to stand up, then looked at the coffin. It was fully out of the ground now. He smiled and laughed, then stood as if nothing had even happened. _'Is this bozo hyped up on morphine or something?!" _Naruto thought. Orochimaru then walked to the coffin. "Your efforts were in vain," he said, opening the door, "Suzaku." The coffin opened, and a figure stepped out. Suzaku looked at the figure and a tear appeared in one eye. "Father..."

_To be continued..._

***Evil laughter in Japanese, or something like that.**


	43. Father and Son

**I have one more piece of evidence to support my theory on the Naruto timeframe, and anyone who has seen the third Naruto movie knows what I'm talking about. On the trip back to the Land of the Moon, Hikaru is playing on a pink Gameboy. If anyone can tell me why it's pink, I'd be really glad. Read and review.**

Suzaku watched as the figure emerged from the coffin. Sasuke watched it in awe. Narutos jaw dropped once he realized whom it was. Sasaku recognized the face, and had heard about him, but thought he had died long ago. "Fa... ther..." Suzaku said. Sasuke said, "Yondame Hokage, Suzaku and Naruto's father, Namikaze Minato..." Sasaku turned to him in disbelief. "Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage?" he said, "And on top of that, HE is Suzakus ototo?!" Sasuke nodded.

Minato took two steps, a blank expression on his face. He turned to Orochimaru, then looked to Suzaku and Naruto. That was when he threw a kunai at them. It passed right between them, but Suzaku swore when he saw the tag on it. Naruto didn't know what happened, but when he dodged the kunai, a sharp and throbbing pain slammed into the side of his head before he passed out. Suzaku spun around and put a hand on the bruise on his face.

Sasaku was tired of standing around. He drew his swords and made a motion to Sasuke. Sasuke nodded and the two of them vanished. They appeared behind Orochimaru, and Sasaku slashed at him. He blocked with the same katana as before. Then Sasaku came in with his other sword and was parried. He made constant attacks, but couldn't land a single hit. Unlike with Horo, Sasaku had no real motivation to fight Orochimaru, other than it was his mission.

_'What's different between now and other missions?!'_ he thought, _'I took killing Sarin, Horo, and Hiro on a personal level. This guy is a big a threat as them, and I can't take him out! Why...?'_ He thought as the blades danced and slammed into each other. That was when he realized that Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. Then Sasaku dodged a swipe from Orochimaru, and stabbed him in the stomach. Orochimaru melted into a purple sludge, a substitution. Sasaku swore and whipped around.

He was struck across the face with the butt of Orochimarus sword. Orochimaru had his head down, his hair covering his face. He suddenly looked up and looked at Sasaku. He licked his lips and made a hand sign. Suddenly, a genjutsu had paralyzed Sasaku. He struggled to make a sign to release the jutsu, but was unable to. Orochimaru slowly walked up to him. He bent low and grabbed Sasaku's right hand. He took it, then a burning rush shot through it. Sasaku felt more pain coming from his hand then he'd ever felt in his life.

Sasaku fell to the ground, the jutsu had been released, and Orochimaru turned to watch the fight between Minato and Suzaku. They had both planted their special kunai all over the battlefield. Only blurs of their bodies could be seen and the clang of metal when two kunai struck. "Isn't it a marvelous sight?" Orochimaru said, "Konoha's Yellow Flash, fighting his own son in a battle of speed. It almost makes me want to take Suzaku back, but it is obvious he'd only break away again. Oh well, it seems that the flesh and blood of Yondame are out of the question, but you," he turned to Sasaku, "might turn out to be promising."

Sasaku struggled to rise from the ground. Suddenly, Sasuke burst in and attacked Orochimaru. Orochimaru was hit and went flying. Then Sasuke made a hand sign and yelled, "Ninja Art: Fan the Flames!" It was successful, finally. Sasuke had put wind chakra into one lung, and fire chakra into the other. Since wind wasn't one of his main elements, it wouldn't be as great as Suzaku's, yet it would work near as well. He shot off multiple Fireball Jutsus at Orochimaru, hitting him only with the last one.

Then Sasuke came in next to Orochimaru, with Raiga's sword in his hand. He had re-named the sword Suto-mu (storm). The sword was lightly covered in fire, and had lightning streaming off of it. He struck Orochimaru with it, causing the pale snake man to stumble back. Then Sasuke struck the sword into the air. Clouds began to form overhead, dark thunderclouds. Sasakus hair stood from the static. That was when the tide changed in the battles.

Naruto woke up, and saw his brother and his father instantly flashing from place to place. Lightning began to strike whenever Minato moved, and it would hit the next kunai he was going to. Suzaku saw this, and was starting to be able to predict his father's movements. He suddenly gained the upper hand because of the sword he'd re-forged for Sasuke. Now, every now and then, he'd barely be able to nick Minato, and suddenly, the speeding around stopped. Suzaku landed a punch right on Minato's cheek.

Minato fell to the ground, a small trail of blood coming from the corner of his lip. Suzaku jumped up and landed a punch right on Minato's chest. There was a crack as he broke the sternum. Minato lay limp on the ground and looked up at Suzaku. "I'm sorry it had to be this way." he said, then he turned to Naruto, "I want you to know, I never intended to hurt you by giving you the fox. I hoped you would be renowned as a hero, and that people would praise you for protecting the village from the monster." he turned back to Suzaku, "Finish it."

Suzaku looked at his helpless father in despair. Then he nodded, and threw a circle of about five more kunais around them. He went from one to another, faster and faster, making a rasengan form. Once it was a fully formed, Suzaku jumped up and shot Blaze of Glory into the Hurricane Rasengan. The blue-white flames spun around and a heat wave emitted from it. Then Suzaku stood and stared at the burned crater in the ground. "Goodbye..." he said. Then he turned to face Sasuke and Orochiamru.

_To be continued..._


	44. Mission Accomplished

Sasuke stared at Orochimaru, grasping Suto-mu in one hand. He swung it at Orochimaru, even though they were a large distance apart. A blast of lightning fell from the sky towards Sasuke, then curved towards Orochimaru. It struck him, and Orochimaru shook from the lightning, barely alive. His hair stood up, giving him the look of a thin afro. Sasuke flipped Suto-mu into the air and caught the tip of the blade between his thumb and first finger. He threw it, and it spun through the air and hit Orochimaru square in the forehead. His eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground.

Sasuke walked over and rolled Orochimaru over. He plucked the sword from his head and then made hand signs. "Fire Style:" he yelled, "Dragon Fire Jutsu!" He blasted Orochimaru with the flame and then walked away. He offered a hand to help Sasaku up. Sasaku took it and stood. When Sasuke walked away, he peeled the glove off his right hand. On the back of it was a circle, with a dot in the middle and three dots on the outside. It almost looked like a Sharingan, except the outside circles were more "." than ",".

The mark stung, and it felt as if it had enormous amounts of chakra leaking from it. _'What is this thing?'_ he thought, _'It can't be a curse mark; I've never even seen one like this. Could Orochimaru have possibly devised his own mark? I recognize the thing on Sasuke's neck as a heaven mark, and from what I know; I can infer that Orochimaru gave it to him during the Chunnin exams. If that's true, then Orochimaru probably practices curse seals...'_

As he pieced it together in his head, he concluded that this was a new curse mark that had been placed on him. He'd have to get it sealed later. But who could he find that would be able to. He considered asking Suzaku, and thought that would be best. He slipped the glove back on and walked towards Suzaku. Sasuke and Naruto were sitting and talking, most likely in recoup. Suzaku was looking around at the rubble. He seemed to be looking for something. He saw Sasaku and walked to him.

"Suzaku," Sasaku said, "I need to ask you something." Suzaku raised and eyebrow, and Sasaku whispered in his ear, "Do you know how to seal curse marks?" Suzaku nodded, "Think you can seal mine?" Suzaku asked to see it and Sasaku took off the glove. Suzaku took Sasaku's hand and made a sign with his other hand. The mark burned and pulsed, and then the outside dots spun and glowed red. They stopped spinning and looked the same as before, only there were lines connecting the three outer dots to the inner dot.

"Thanks!" Sasaku said. Suzaku replied by asking, "Now can you look around with your Byakugan and see if you can find a trapdoor into the ground?" Sasaku nodded, then looked around through the rubble. It took him half an hour to find the small metal door in the ground. The moment he pointed it out to Suzaku, Suzaku was over there attacking the building on top and clearing a way down. "Alright," he said, "Sasuke, Naruto, get over here!" They walked over to him and Sasaku. "What's up?" Naruto asked.

"I am going to stay a while and make sure Oto gets a good Otokage that will ally with the Leaf Village." he said, "Now I want you to go back to the village and report to Lady Tsunade as soon as you can, okay?" They all nodded. Then the three of them took off and made their way back to the village. It would take some time to get there, but it should be faster then how long it took them to reach Oto. Sasuke thought it'd be about two days.

Suzaku walked to the door and opened it upwards. When he walked in, he saw a lab of tons of elixirs and papers all over. He smiled and picked up a stack of papers. He began to read them over thoroughly. As he read, his smile grew, and started to fade halfway through. It was exactly what he was looking for, but not what he expected. He swore and threw down the papers. Then he made a hand sign.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sasaku were leaping through the forest, when suddenly Suzaku's voice echoed in their heads. _'Tell Tsunade-sama that it will be longer than I thought.'_ They all stopped abruptly. "What the heck?" Naruto said. _'Listen,'_ Suzaku said, again in their minds, _'It is a jutsu that allows you to communicate with people from a small distance. I taught it to Sasuke, so have him tell you about it. Anyways, just tell Tsunade that it will be significantly longer than expected. The people of Oto are... not cooperating.'_

_'That's all we need to say?'_ Sasaku confirmed, _'Why couldn't you just tell Tsunade?'_

_'Because it can only be used for up to a mile distances.'_ Sasuke replied, inside everyone's head.

_'Man, Sasuke,' _Naruto said, _'You need to teach me this one.'_

_'He can do it on the way back,'_ Suzaku said, _'Now just tell that to Tsunade. I'm going to cut the link to our minds now.'_ Everyone could only hear his own thoughts now. "How did Suzaku develop such a jutsu?" Sasaku asked. Sasuke shrugged. "It allows you to infiltrate the mind of an enemy, and as long as you don't think anything, you can hear all their thoughts without them knowing about you." Sasaku laughed and ran his fingers through his hair. Then he stopped suddenly. "I could use that!" he said.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow to him. "Maturely?" he asked. Sasaku laughed and said, "Where's the fun in that?" Naruto nodded in agreement. "Now teach us the jutsu!" he said. Sasuke sighed and proceeded in teaching them the jutsu as they traveled to Konoha. They traveled for two days before making it back, much faster then they got to Oto. Once they got back, they reported the mission to Tsunade, and went back to their separate apartments. When Sasaku walked into his, there was a single flower on the doorstep. It had a tag that said, "From Ino". Sasaku thought for a minute, wondering if he forgot something, then swore as he remembered. He ran to the flower shop as fast as he could.

_To be continued..._


	45. Broken Into

With a hand on the flower shop door handle, Sasaku had a sudden realization. He peered through the window and saw Ino sitting behind the counter, reading a magazine. The splint had been taken off her leg. Sasaku sighed. He wanted to surprise her, yet this was the only flower shop he knew of. He swore, and looked at the flower in his hands that she had given to him. He thought for a second, then walked in. Ino looked up in surprise. "You're back already?" she asked. Sasaku nodded.

"Have you eaten yet?" he asked. When Ino shook her head, he continued, "Once you close up, how 'bout coming to my house for dinner?"

"Sure, I'll be there in a few minutes." she said. Sasaku smiled and proceeded to leave. "Wait!" Ino said, and he turned around, "Aren't you going to tell me where you live?" Sasaku laughed and said where his apartment was. Then he said goodbye and walked back to his apartment. He saw his window and noticed it was broken. He jumped up and landed in the windowsill. There was glass all over his bed. He leapt over it and saw his door hanging by a single hinge.

When Sasaku walked into the living room, he saw a horrible mess. A table was splintered, his bookshelf was toppled over, and the case he kept the Kumori Tora and Demon Sword in was broken. He grabbed the swords on his waist to make sure they were still there. He was really glad he hadn't dropped them off before he went to the flower shop. In fact, he was glad he hadn't gone in and fallen asleep on the couch like he originally intended.

Then he looked over at the kitchen. The refrigerator had been unplugged and thrown across the room. It had smashed into the sink and there were foods and different colored liquids all over the floor. The pantry door had been smashed in, and all the rest of his food was strewn all over the floor. Then he saw a picture on the ground face down. He walked over and picked it up. It was a photo of his family, back when he was twelve. Sasaku and his mom were sitting on his scooter, and his dad was standing behind them with a hand on Sasaku's head. His other arm was around his wife's waist. His brother was off a ways, avoiding being in the picture.

The glass was cracked, and the frame was completely unusable now. He set the picture down, and then stood in the middle of the room. The front door was open a little. Then Sasaku saw a trail of blood leading to the door he had his washing machine and dryer in. He ran up to it and opened the door. He gasped when he saw Naruto face down on the ground. He grabbed Naruto and flipped him onto his back. He had a gash in his chest, and the shirt he was wearing had kunai slashes all over it. He had giant slashes all over his body, but none compared to the huge gash across his chest. The injuries were smoking and slowly healing, an effect of the Kyuubi's chakra.

Naruto's eyes cracked open. "He wanted... the swords..." he sputtered before passing out. Sasaku swore. He needed to get Naruto to the hospital, and quick. He focused his chakra and instantly appeared in front of the hospital. He ran in and the receptionist looked at him questioningly. "Listen, my apartment was broken into," he said, "and there is a boy there who got injured badly! I need someone to go help him!" The receptionist nodded and called back into the back room. Two medical ninja came out and the first one said, "Lead the way!" Sasaku nodded and ran outside.

They began jumping from rooftop to rooftop towards Sasaku's apartment. They reached there and the medical ninjas ran over to Naruto. They picked him up and vanished. Sasaku turned around and saw them jumping from rooftop to rooftop, with Naruto held between them. He released his breath and closed the front door. He looked back to the room and almost threw up. The furniture was a mess, there was a bloodstain on the ground where Naruto had been dragged, and the rest of the floor was covered in broken wood, glass, and his sofa.

He closed his eyes and cupped his mouth and nose in his hands. He took a deep breath and exhaled. Then Sasaku stormed out of the apartment. He slammed the door behind him. He walked a ways and saw Ino walking towards him. "Hey, what's up?" Ino asked. He silently shouldered past her. "What's wrong?" Ino said back to him, "Are you alright?" Sasaku stopped walking for a second. "I need some time alone..." he said, and continued walking. He kept going and walked to the lake in Konoha.

Sasaku sat down on the shore and put his knees to his chest. He crossed his arms on his knees and rested his chin between his knees, behind his arms. He looked at the clear water as the moon shone on it. Then Sasaku grabbed the swords around his waist. He undid the sash that held them on and held the swords in his hands. He exposed the black blade of the Kumori Tora slightly and then sheathed it. He took a rope and wrapped the swords together in a way so they couldn't fall from the scabbards.

He inhaled and held his breath. Then Sasaku cocked his arm back with the swords behind his head. He was about to throw when a voice cut him off. "Are you really going to do it?" Ino asked. He didn't look at her as he lowered his arm a little. Then he chucked the swords right into the lake. He panted and sat down on the shore again. He was in the same position as before. Ino came and sat next to him, her legs spread out and her arms behind her.

"Are you sure you wanted to do that?" Ino asked. Sasaku hesitated, and then nodded. "All my life has been is one goddamn nightmare after another!" he said, "This is one I can avoid, and one I will." Ino put an arm around his shoulders and Sasaku did the same. With some tears in his eyes, Sasaku leaned in closer and watched the ripples in the lake as the moon reflected off them. The two sat there in silence for hours, as time ever so slowly ticked away.

_To be continued..._


	46. Dreams

_Sasaku was walking down the street next to Ino. It was late Saturday afternoon. The two of them had just come back from the park and were laughing and talking as the strolled. Suddenly, Sasaku heard the click of a gun being cocked behind him. He swung around and saw Horo standing there with a 10 gauge pointed at him. He reached for the swords around his waist, only they weren't there. Horo smiled as he blasted Ino with a shot from the gun. Time seemed to slow as Ino's scream rang in Sasaku's ears. She was shrouded in a burst of blood._

_Sasaku felt a tear in his eye. Then he ran at full speed at Horo. Horo shot him, and Sasaku felt pain explode all over his body. 'Where the heck is my armor?!' he thought. He continued running painfully at Horo. He was shot again. Sasaku coughed up blood as he reached Horo. He threw a punch at the man, but an invisible energy surrounded him, stopping the punch. He threw another one, and another one, and another one. Horo hit Sasaku in the stomach with the barrel of the gun. Sasaku coughed up more blood and Horo pulled the trigger. An explosion of pain shot through Sasaku's body, but he still wasn't dead. Horo pulled the trigger over and over, laughing all the while, until Sasaku was nothing but a bloody mess of flesh and bones._

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Sasaku burst awake. He was panting and sweating. His heart was racing. Sasaku looked around and sighed. His clock told him two in the morning, but he didn't need a clock to tell him he was having nightmares that woke him up constantly. It had been over a month since he threw the swords in the lake, and every night he'd have a different nightmare. In each one, Horo would come and kill one of his friends. Sasaku would go for his swords, but they weren't there. Then when he'd attack Horo, he wouldn't be able to, and he'd go through an impossible amount of pain.

Sasaku gripped his black nightshirt and got up to get a drink. He walked into the kitchen; a new fridge was there. Grabbing a glass and filling it, the cool water rushed down his throat. He put the cup in the sink and saw his door creaking open. _'Crap!'_ he thought, _'When are these people going to learn I don't have it?!'_ He jumped up and hid himself on the ceiling behind the fan. The door opened and a man with long red hair walked in. The hair was uneven and past his shoulders. He wore a sleeveless brown shirt and ripped blue pants. There was a Leaf headband tied on his leg.

The man walked over to the case the swords should have been in. He peered at it for a second before deciding they weren't there. "I don't flaMING HAVE THEM!" Sasaku yelled as he leapt from the ceiling with a Rasengan in his hand. The man shouted in surprise and was thrown across the room as the Rasengan struck his face. Then Sasaku jumped at him and kicked him against the wall, putting a crack in it. The man fell and left a smear of blood where he hit. Sasaku walked over and picked him up by the shirt.

"Now listen!" he said, "If you don't leave my apartment, I will personally rip your head off and shove it up your-" he went off on a serious stream of threats. The man was quaking by the time Sasaku had finished. Sasaku dropped him and the man bolted out the door. Sasaku let out a roar of rage and punched his wall. It left a hole in the wall that led to the drywall underneath. He fell to his knees and let out a steady stream of sobs. That was the fifth break-in since he'd thrown the swords out, and he didn't even want to know how many were to come.

A knock came at the door and Naruto walked in, wearing his pajamas. "You alright Sasaku?" he asked. Sasaku nodded, his back turned. He stood up and wiped the tears from his face. "It took forever for word to get out I had the sword." Sasaku said, "How long will it be until they discover I don't have those forsaken blades anymore." Naruto sighed. "I don't know," he said, "I think you need to take some time off from the academy." Sasaku nodded. It was Thursday, but he figured he'd skip the rest of this week and next.

Naruto left and Sasaku went back to sleep. The moment he did, he had another dream...

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_The dream was almost exactly like before. He and Ino were walking down the street from their date at the park. He heard the gun cock, just as before. When he turned around, he went for his waist and pulled the Kumori Tora and Demon Sword out. Horo smiled and pulled the trigger on the M16 he was carrying. The bullets all came towards Ino. Sasaku jumped in front of her and blocked all of the bullets with his swords. He grinned and Horo had a scared look on his face as he reloaded._

_Sasaku ran at full speed and jumped into the air. He came down on Horo with the two swords. The black chakra leaked out as Sasaku struck the barrier around Horo. He stopped for a second, then shattered the barrier. He struck Horo in the shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground. "Please!" Horo pleaded, "Have mercy!" Sasaku looked at Horo with disgust. "The mercy you never showed to anyone you killed?" he said, "The mercy you never showed to my mom?!" He swung the sword and decapitated Horo..._

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The sun was high in the sky now. Sasaku yawned and got up. He sat in his bed and stared at the blanket over him. Then he got up and got fully ready. Over his armor, he put on his red t-shirt and a black jacket over that. He threw on some black pants and then took off through town. He strolled over to the weapon shop to find some replacement katanas. None of them just seemed to work. He sighed and walked out. He needed those swords back. Shaking his head, he ran back to the lake...

_To be continued..._


	47. Retrieval

Sasaku's feet patted the ground as he ran for the lake. The mid day sun shone in the sky, casting short shadows. He went all across the town to get to the lake. He saw a small group of men there, so he hid in the trees nearby and watched. He turned on the Byakugan for a second to confirm the swords were still there. Then he turned it off and began to listen to the men speaking.

"I don't want to be the one to dive in and get them!" a short, fat man said to the rest, "There wouldn't be any way I'd get them!"

The man that had just tried to break in to Sasaku's house that morning stepped foreword. He had a large brown sack on his back. "Listen," he said, "I jus' know they're here. It was hard fo' me to get that girl ta talk, but when she cracked she says they was in the lake."

A man with short dark-blue hair stepped up. "We've all tried his apartment, and didn't find nothing." he said, "I want that sword, and if one of you sissies doesn't hurry up and dive, there are gonna be some-" he paused and pulled out a spiked whip, "-casualties." The men all fidgeted in place, and finally one man said, "Have the girl do it!" All the men began shouting and cheering for that suggestion, and finally the blue haired man, their leader, stepped foreword and said, "All right, she can fetch the swords!"

The man with the sack came foreword and dumped the sack on the ground. He opened it and Ino fell out of the bag. She was bound and gagged with thick ropes. The leader walked up to her and took the gag off of her. The man said to her, "Now, you're going to dive into that water and bring back up the swords for us. If you can't, then you try again until you succeed or drown. If you succeed, we'll let you go."

Sasaku growled as they picked Ino up and tossed her into the water. She struggled to stay up, but her arms were still bound. "How am I supposed to get the swords?!" she shouted. The leader smiled and watched as she would go down for a moment and back up. Sasaku's rage was building. He gripped his pants, then jumped above all the men and strait into the water. All the men let out cries of shock when they saw the splash. Then Sasaku came up on shore, dragging Ino with him.

Then Sasaku looked up at the leader. "Are these the swords you want?" he asked, holding up the Demon Sword and the Kumori Tora. The leaders eyes glittered with lust. He stepped foreword. Suddenly, he let out a howl of pain. Sasaku was behind him, holding the swords with both arms crossed over his chest. A spurt of blood came out of the X shaped gash across his torso. He fell foreword and lay still, totally unconscious. Then the rest of the men began pulling out weapons of their own.

Sasaku looked at all of them, then made a hand sign while still holding the swords. "Fire Style:" he yelled, "Ninja Blade!" The swords he held became coated in fire. He lashed out at one man after another, taking them out one by one. As he noticed, each one was one of the ones that broke into his house. He slashed through the last one and all the men lay unconscious on the ground. Sasaku spun the swords in a full circle, then threw the Demon Sword in the air as he sheathed the Kumori Tora. Then he caught the Demon Sword and sheathed that as well.

Sasaku walked over to Ino and loosened the bands around her wrists. He offered his hands to help her up and she took them gladly. The two stood there looking at each other. "Umm..." Ino said, "You can let go of my hands now." Sasaku looked down and saw he was still holding her hands. He let go and put his hands in his pockets as he blushed. The two stood in silence for a while. "Why did you come back for them?" Ino finally asked.

"I thought that I might need them to protect any of my friends." he said, "And besides, I don't think anyone else could handle the power responsibly." He smiled at her, then looked away. Ino smiled back, and she stood closer to Sasaku. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before running off. Sasaku sighed and leaned against a tree. Then he got up and walked back into the village. He went and his stomach growled. He'd skipped lunch before he came for the swords, so he thought he'd get it now.

Sasaku walked into town and went to Ichiraku. There he ordered a bowl of the deluxe ramen and ate in silence. When he finished he walked out and ran right into someone. The two fell down. "Hey! Watch it!" the man yelled. Sasaku looked up. The other man was about nineteen or twenty. He had dirty blonde hair that was messy and over his ears. Sasaku's eyes widened when he saw him. The man looked at Sasaku and gaped. "Sasaku?"

"Ichigo?" The two looked at each other in complete silence for a moment. Then they embraced each other for a long time. "Ichigo-niisan!" Sasaku said when they released, "What are you doing here?!"

"I came to Konoha half a year ago!" he said, "I just came really for a change in scenery! I didn't know if I'd ever see you. Come back to my place, we can talk there." Ichigo ran through the street with Sasaku close at his heels. They stopped at a two-story house. Ichigo unlocked the front door and held it open for Sasaku. They walked into the front hall. Then Ichigo shut the door and yelled out "Kira-chan, I'm back!"

"Who's Kira?" Sasaku asked. Ichigo smiled and a woman of about nineteen walked into the hall. "Oh, Ichigo, who's your friend." Ichigo walked up to her. "Kira, this is my oto Sasaku." he said, "Sasaku, this is my wife Kira." Sasaku's jaw dropped when he heard those words. Ichigo kissed Kira and then she walked into a room. "I'll give you two some time to catch up." she said. Ichigo nodded and looked at Sasaku.

Sasaku smiled and punched his brother in the shoulder. "Dude," he said, "you had horrible taste back in Damsut. What happened, dude she's hot!" Ichigo blushed and shied away. "Yeah," he said, "I really had to slit some throats to get her..." The two laughed like they used to back then. Then Ichigo blushed more. "What?" Sasaku asked. Ichigo hesitated, then said, "You're going to be an uncle."

_To be continued..._


	48. Back Home

"I'm going to be a what?!" Sasaku said, laughing like crazy, "Dude, that's awesome!" Ichigo smiled. "Yeah, we're expecting about eight months." he said. The two talked for a little while longer, then Sasaku said, "So why did you leave Damsut?" Ichigo went totally dark. There wasn't a bit of humor left in him, and he gripped the edge of the counter. Then his face gradually began showing more and more anger.

"Dad." he said. Sasaku got worried. "What happened to dad?" he asked hurriedly. Ichigo instantly loosened up as if nothing were wrong then looked at Sasaku with worry. He sighed and walked over to the couch. He and Sasaku sat. Ichigo buried his face in his hands, then sighed again and looked up at Sasaku. "Dad..." he began, but stopped. Sasaku urged him to go on. "Dad... he..." Ichigo continued, "... there's... no easy way to say this but... dad's... dad's remarried..."

"What?!?!" Sasaku jumped up, with mixed emotions. He was horrified, furious, and depressed at the same time. He began to go off into a stream of swears. "-and right after I avenge her-!"

"Wait, what?!" Ichigo blurted. Sasaku paused for a second. "I killed the man that killed mom." he said. Ichigo slumped back into the couch, relieved. He looked like the whole "dad being remarried" thing hadn't happened. Sasaku looked at the ground. "I'm going to Damsut." he said. Ichigo stood up quickly. "No, I don't want you to go through that!" he said.

"I'm going, I don't care what you say!" The two stood there silent for over ten minutes. "I'll help you get there." Ichigo said. Sasaku brightened. Then Ichigo led Sasaku through a door. The door led into a garage. Sasaku flipped the light closest to him. A small light flickered on and it revealed Sasaku's old scooter. He ran up to it and hopped on. "Dude," he yelled, "you saved this?! Man, you're awesome."

"Thank you," Ichigo said, "but that wasn't what I was talking about." He flipped another switch and the rest of the garage lit up. Sasaku looked at Ichigo, then turned around. His eyes widened and an ear-to-ear grin spread on his face. He got off the scooter and slowly walked away from Ichigo. He put his hand on the handlebars and jumped on. "Oh... my... gosh..." he said, "You're going to let me borrow your Harley?!?" Ichigo nodded.

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Naruto took the key out of his pocket and put it in the lock on his door. Right as he turned it, something spun him around and Sasaku's door opened and closed. Naruto knocked and walked in. Then Sasaku slammed into him, and a suitcase fell to the ground. "Dang," Naruto said, "what's the flaming hurry?" Sasaku stood and picked up the suitcase. Then he looked at it and tossed it back into the room. He shut the door and locked it. "I'm going back to the city I grew up in."

"Why?" Naruto asked. Sasaku thought for a second. "Well," he said, "at first I wanted to confront my father, but now I just want to see him, and meet... my... new..." he paused for a minute, "I'm going to confront my father." He had gone into a more serious tone now. Naruto nodded with a weird expression and went back into his own apartment. Sasaku ran through the village to the front gate. His brother was waiting there with the Harley.

"Take care of her for me," Ichigo said, "okay Sasaku?" Sasaku nodded and hopped on. He knuckle touched his brother before hitting the gas and shooting off. He traveled for a few hours strait before pulling into a small town to stop for the night. He found an inn that was really cheap. He got his motorcycle secured and went walking through the town. He went into a small restaurant and ate an amazing dinner. _'I'm gonna hafta hit there on the way back...'_ he thought to himself.

He made his way back to the inn. "Hey, you," a quiet voice called, "ninja boy!" Sasaku turned to see a short looking old woman with curly grey hair that covered her eyes. She was a little tent on the side of the road. He walked over. "Yes?" he asked. The woman motioned for him to come in. He went in and the inside was a lot bigger than the outside looked. The woman sat behind a small round table with a crystal orb on it. The table was draped in purple.

"Come, sit." the old woman said. Sasaku sat in the chair on the opposite side of the table. "Now boy," she said, "for a small charge, how would you like to get your fortune told." Sasaku groaned and rolled his eyes. He got up and proceeded to leave. "Wait," the woman said, "Sasaku!" Sasaku stopped in his tracks. "How..." he said, "do you know my name?" The woman laughed quietly. "Come, sit." she said, "My services will be free for you." Sasaku sat down again, eyeing the woman cautiously.

"Now," she said, "let me see your hand." Sasaku extended his arm towards her and she grabbed it. Then she studied the lines on the palm carefully. She wrinkled her brow and stared at it harder. After a few minutes she relaxed and said, "I cannot read your palm," she said, "there's to much confusion. But, I have another method as well. Since you are a ninja, I'm assuming that you could focus your chakra into this orb." She motioned to the crystal ball on her table.

Sasaku nodded and placed a hand right above the orb. He pouted a little chakra into it. The orb became a swirling mess of dark colors. The old woman put her hands on the sides of the orb and looked at it. The colors began to light up and flash. The woman's eyes widened. "This is...!" then she jumped under the table as the orb flashed and shook. Sasaku got to the ground and the orb exploded into a million shards of glass.

The two got back up. "What the hell was that?!" Sasaku yelled. The woman stood trembling in fear. "I-I didn't see much," she stammered, "but enough..."

_To be continued..._


	49. And Traveling Continues

Sasaku tossed and turned as he tried to sleep. After hearing what that woman said, how could he? _"There is a darkness lumbering over you." _she had said, _"If your will is weak, it will control you. And I also saw a life being lost, one that is close. Anger will drive you to be hated by many. You will be hunted and searched for, and the hunter will not rest until he has you. That was as far as I could see..."_

Her words troubled him to no end. He knew the darkness was the Kumori Tora, but he didn't know how he'd handle it. Then who's life would be lost? His father's? Ichigo's? (He swallowed hard.) Ino's? That worry was killing him. Then who would be the one searching for him, and why? What happens after that? How come she was unable to see any further? The orb had exploded, what did that mean? Sasaku had some really strange things going on to him now...

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A roar let out as Sasaku started the engine. He pulled the goggles from around his neck up over his eyes. The he pulled back the handle and the bike went speeding down the trail. He took a bite of the loaf of bread he'd gotten and went faster. He was planning on making this trip in breakneck speed. That would mean only stopping for meals and answering calls to nature. He grabbed the headphone of his MP3 and put it in his ear.

Sasaku emerged from a forest and was riding through a grassy plain. He peered foreword and saw in a ways down there was a town. Then another one about three times the distance. The second one was in the middle of the convergence between the plain and a desert. He'd probably get to the first town by lunch and then bunk at the second one. He sped on through the day on the bike until the sun was high overhead. He reached the second town, grabbed a quick lunch, then left.

He went on throughout the rest of the day sitting on the motorcycle as he sped along the trail. Sasaku saw a little bump in the middle of the trail, and slowed as he got closer. He came to a complete stop and jumped off the bike. The bump was a small mound of dirt, right in the middle of the road. Sasaku shrugged and began walking back to his bike. A hand popped out of the ground and grabbed his ankle.

Sasaku lashed at it with the sword, but the hand went back under before he could hit it. The mound moved away quickly, then a body emerged from it. It was an older boy, with a Sand headband that had a slash in it. "Give me the swords!" he said, "Or I'll take them by force!" Sasaku growled. He drew the swords and took a fighting stance. The boy drew a broadsword of his own. Sasaku eyed the odd looking blade.

The boy jumped towards Sasaku and brought the sword down. Sasaku parried it but the man brought the sword right back up. He moved out of the way barely in time. Because the sword was sharp on both sides, he was going to have to be careful. He blocked a few more hits, then slashed at the ninja. He was replaced by a substitution. Sasaku whipped around shouted, "Lightning Style: Ninja Blade!"

Much like Suto-mu, electricity coated the two swords. The boy swore. He made a hand sign and dove into the ground. A small bump appeared in the ground and moved fast away from Sasaku. Sasaku sighed and sheathed the swords. Then he got back on the Harley and drove for the next town. It was only an hour away now. He was getting tired by the time he reached it.

He looked around the town. It was a small desert village. There were no inns or anywhere else to stay for as far as he looked. Finally, Sasaku stopped in a restaurant for dinner. He finished and asked the receptionist where he could find a place to stay. "There's a small inn about a block down." he said, "It is very popular and luxurious. Along with that, it's not very expensive. It is the perfect place to stay."

"Thanks." Sasaku said. He then took off for the inn. It was fair in size and was very nicely panted wood. He walked in and was greeted by a man who was behind a counter. "Welcome to this fine establishment." he said, "Would you like a room? Hopefully you will be able to find us very affordable, and a complimentary breakfast comes with every night you stay."

There were people flooding the hallways. They seemed to have come from all over the world. There were two men arguing and pointing to a woman a small ways off. There was also a group of men in turbans. Sasaku paid for the key and walked off. The lobby branched out into several hallways and each one looked beautiful and luxurious. "Kinda reminds me of back home." Sasaku said. He found his room on the second floor and threw his stuff down.

He lay on the bed and was amazed by the comfort. He rolled over and pulled a notebook out of his pack. Sasaku began to sketch just to pass the time. After almost and hour, he closed the notebook and fell asleep. He was asleep for a good amount of time before waking up to a noise. The moment he opened his eyes he felt a knife pressed against his throat.

There were two men in masks standing in the room. One held the kunai to Sasaku's throat and the other was searching around the room. Sasaku's breath quickened. Could they be here for the swords? The man ducked under the bed. "I FOUND THEM!!!" he shouted. The other man looked down at him. Sasaku took the arm of the man holding the kunai and broke it. The man swore at him.

Then Sasaku launched a punch at the man that was crawling from under the bed. He swore as the Kumori Tora slashed him halfway up his arm.

_To be continued..._


	50. Crappy Hotel

**YAY! Celebrating fifty chapters now. And here's a little something on this chapter: some of you may find this chapter vaguely similar to something else, but I assure you it is not. Okay, maybe a little, but I didn't do it on purpose. It just turned out that way. And even if it is, not a lot of people will get it. Hopefully...**

**...**

**...Read and review.**

The blood dripped off of Sasaku's slashed arm. He swore at himself as the man fully emerged with the swords. The two men stood there side by side. The one with the broken arm held it tenderly. The other man with the swords looked at him with disgust. "You're so useless!" he said as he stuck both swords through the other mans chest. He coughed up blood before falling to the ground dead.

Sasaku looked at the body in pure horror. An evil grin crossed the mans face. The mask began to burn off as a pitch-black chakra encased him in the shape of a tiger. _'Crap!'_ Sasaku thought, _'he must have unlocked the gate fully!'_ He ran out of the room and heard a roar behind him. Then the sound of a wall crashing down.

He ran as fast as he could down the hall and looked over his shoulder. The tiger-shaped chakra was twice as big than it should be. It charged at him full speed, a roar echoing through the halls. As Sasaku whipped around, he realized that there was no one anywhere. He ran as fast as he could to where the lobby should've been. Except, there wasn't a lobby. The hall just continued on with doors rushing past him.

_'Genjutsu!'_ Sasaku thought. Then he swore. How was he supposed to escape this one? Genjutsu was his absolute weak point. He was never good at it and sucked at disabling it. The only thing he really knew was how to zone a person out, and that was easy to break. He decided to try to bust into a room. The door splintered as he slammed against it.

Sasaku pushed himself up and looked foreword. There was an endless hallway in front of him, and when he turned around, and endless hallway behind him, with the man shrouded in the chakra charging after him. Sasaku growled and the back of his right hand burned and pulsed. Under the glove, the curse mark turned red and the dots on the outer circle began spinning. Then short red lines began to crawl up Sasaku's arm. They went over his face and chest and stopped halfway across, changing to black.

A power flowed from the mark, one like no other. A whirl of chakra surrounded Sasaku. He stood and turned to the man. He let out a roar and jumped at Sasaku. Sasaku dodged and kicked the man in the stomach. The man dropped the Demon Sword, and Sasaku picked it up. "This fight's as good as mine!" he yelled. He came in with the sword and slashed at the tiger shaped chakra,

The man roared and screamed in pain as each of the slashes reduced his power. The chakra slowly reseeded until you could see patches of the man's skin appear. Then Sasaku hacked off the hand that was holding the Kumori Tora. The man swore as the sword fell to the floor. Sasaku caught it and spun around before shoving both swords through the man's chest. The man coughed up blood onto Sasaku's face and dropped to the ground.

Sasaku wiped off the swords and sheathed them. Then the hotel around him began to dissipate. It slowly faded into a background of a grassy plain merging with a desert. He was on the border of the river country and wind country. The curse mark burned and receded back to his hand. He sighed and looked around.

The motorcycle was leaning up against a rock formation. Sasaku walked over and leaned against it. He buried his face in his hands and then rubbed his temples. He moved his hand from his face and removed the glove on his right hand. The mark looked exactly like before, sealed and all. He shut his eyes and let weariness overcome him. He fell asleep immediately.

All that Sasaku needed to do now was make it to the Sand Village and head south to a port to get on a boat that traveled to his continent in the west. Hopefully his dad still had the same house. He had completely forgotten to ask his brother. He was glad Ichigo had told him about this though. He began to wonder what his step-mom would be like.

Sasaku stayed leaned against the motorcycle throughout the night. The sun rose and shone in his eyes, waking him. He yawned and got up, and rubbed his sore muscles. Then he put his gloves back on, pulled the goggles from around his neck over his eyes, and got onto the motorcycle. He pulled back and sped off...

_To be continued..._

**Just to clear the air, I have given it some serious thought and consideration. I will not be making Sasaku's home continent the same as Temujin from the second movie. I thought about it and almost did it, but already some of the facts don't match up. So, they are not the same.**


	51. Goin' on a Double

**All right; advancement time. Picture Naruto in his Shippuden outfit from here on out.**

"Man, it's really dull without Sasaku here!" Naruto and Sasuke were eating lunch on the roof of the academy. Naruto was leaned over the side as he watched the people walk around below. He had on his new shirt with black sleeves and shoulders. Sasuke sat turned and staring at the Hokage faces while chewing on a rice ball. Tsunades face had just barely been finished. Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Hey," he whispered, "wanna cut class and go egg Sakura's house."

Sasuke shook his head as he took another bite. "And if you do that I'll be the one after you for it." he said. Naruto repeated him in a mocking tone, then stood up and left. He thought. _'I could always see what Konohamaru's up to...'_ He shook off the thought and walked down the stairs. Sasaku was his only friend that really liked to do the same stuff he did. He would always get bored out of his skull whenever Sasaku was off on a mission.

Naruto just walked around the front of the Academy until it was time for him to go back inside. Today was a lesson on honing fire style ninjutsu. He already knew how that was going to turn out for him: epic fail! No matter, he didn't have anything else to do anyways. _'Man, I need a mission or something! Sasaku's probably having a blast right now...'_

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Sasaku jumped onto a boulder away from the boar chasing him. It hit the rock a few times, then gave up as it went over to sniff his motorcycle. The boar put his nose on the swords strapped to the bike and then laid down. _'Oh crap no!'_ Sasaku thought. But, it had to happen. The boar's deep snoring became one of the only audible things in the desert. It was high noon and there was absolutely nothing around but sand and the rock Sasaku was on. He sighed. _'I hope Naruto's having a good time in the village now...'_

*************************

Naruto hobbled out of the academy covered in burns all over his body. The lesson had actually gone better then expected; at least he could do the jutsu. He groaned and sat down on a bench. "Why do I have to pay for the damages?!?" he yelled into the air. He punched his head three times, then stood up and walked down the street. All and all, his lousy skills burned a desk, three chairs, and Shikamaru's jacket.

Naruto sat down in Ichiraku, not feeling like going back to his apartment. He ordered small ramen and downed it slowly. Once he finished he decided to go to the training field, nothing better to do anyways. He walked through town and came to the training field. It was the same one he'd became a Genin on. He smiled and looked around, full of nostalgia.

Naruto saw Hinata practicing hitting the post he'd once been tied to after the test had been finished. He walked towards her. "Hey, what's up?" he said. Instantly, Hinata hid behind the post. She peeked out from behind it so Naruto could barely see a part of her face. "H-hello," she said, "N-naruto-kun..." Naruto walked over and looked around. "You know," he said, "It's been almost a year and a half since I was here and became a genin."

"Yeah," Hinata replied, "We've all been genin for a while now." Naruto nodded and took in a deep breath through his nose. Then Naruto looked at Hinata. She blushed and looked down. Her nails began scratching at the wooden post. "Hey Hinata," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head, "me, Sasuke, and Sakura are going to dinner as a squad tonight. You wanna come with me?"

Hinata blushed even more, no matter how much she tried to hide it. "B-but it's a..." she muttered, "I-i-i wouldn't w-want to int-trude with your sq-squad..." Naruto smiled. "Don't worry about it, they wont mind." he said, "So, you comin'?" Hinata remained silent for a moment, then nodded. Naruto smiled at her. "I'll come and get you at six." he said before running off.

Hinata stepped out from behind the post. Then she ran off to her own house to get ready.

*************************

Sasuke was standing in a clearing in the forest. There were eight targets posted on the ground, in the trees, and behind a big rock in front of him. Sasuke thought back to when he and his brother were here. The targets were in the exact same place then, and Itachi had hit each and every one of them. When Sasuke tried, he'd only twisted his ankle.

Sasuke took a deep breath, then closed his eyes. He whipped out eight kunai in his hands. He spun around and released the kunai one by one. Some of the kunais hit each other, knocking them into the targets. He stopped spinning and looked at the targets. The seven he could see all had kunais in the dead center. He walked around the rock and sighed. The last kunai was stuck in the ground just in front of the target.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled out, running from the forest. Sasuke turned to him. "Sasuke!" Naruto rambled out, "You, me! Sakura and Hinata! Double date! Please?!"

"Just slow down and tell me!" Sasuke said. Naruto sighed and took a breath. "Here's the deal," he said fairly quickly, "I told Hinata that we were having dinner together as squad seven and asked her to come. Can you and Sakura please come? Just think of it as a double. Later in the night, Hinata and me can go off and leave you two alone. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"

"I'll see what Sakura says." Sasuke replied. Naruto let out an exclamation of joy and punched the air. He and Sasuke jumped off in different directions to get ready.

_To be continued..._


	52. Bike Ride

**Bonus points if you can name where I got the idea for the fight in this chapter. See if you can find it out before anyone else. Read and review!**

Dust was kicked up and hovered in the air behind Sasaku. His motorcycle buzzed as it sped on through the soft desert sand. He wiped some to the dirt off his goggles and slowed down a little. Sasaku quickly snapped out of it and accelerated at a great pace. Suddenly, he heard the roars of more engines behind him. He spun around and saw two people on bikes riding behind him.

Sasaku swore and drew the Kumori Tora. The men were from the gang that Horo was leader of. _'How'd they find me?!'_ he thought. The men pulled up on both sides of them. One drew a long sword and the other a 40. cal. The man with the sword swung at him. "This is for Horo!" he yelled. Sasaku blocked and sped up even more. A gunshot went off behind him.

The bullet bounced off his shoulder. "Did you only come for Horo?!?" he yelled back. The man with the gun drove next to Sasaku. "We came to join him with Orochimaru!" he said. He let loose some gunshots at Sasaku's face. He blocked them with the sword and went into a spinout. He came to a total stop and the two men drove in a circle and came back at him.

The man with the sword came at full speed, then hopped over the handlebars onto the front of the bike. He then jumped towards Sasaku and slashed the sword at him. Sasaku kicked the engine and drove away from the man. He had to block a slash and nearly fell off the bike. The man simply jumped back onto his. More gunshots rang out and Sasaku bent low onto the bike. He felt a bullet pass through his hair.

Sasaku locked the handlebars so they wouldn't turn. Then he drew the Demon Sword. He blocked more oncoming bullets and knocked away the man with the sword. Sasaku grinned and threw a kunai at the man with the sword. It stuck into the bike. The man looked at it and swore when he saw the paper bomb.

The bike exploded, and the man flew towards Sasaku, seemingly unharmed. Sasaku crossed his blades and stopped the long sword from reaching him. Then the man with the sword landed on the back of the other mans bike. The man with the gun let loose a barrage of shots at Sasaku. Time slowed for Sasaku when he enabled the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako.

Then Sasaku opened the first and second gates. He jumped off the bike and the man with the sword met him halfway. He slashed at the man and the man held up the long sword to block. Sasaku landed on the ground and slid a few meters before jumping up back onto his bike. The man swore as he threw his shattered sword to the ground and pulled out his own gun, and M16. The other man parked next to him and got off the bike.

Sasaku rode in a circle around the men and they launched as much ammo as they could at him. He blocked all of the bullets with his swords, turning by leaning and holding to the bike with his legs. As soon as the men paused, Sasaku turned towards them and charged. They shot more at him, but he blocked each of those, driving straight between the men. He held the swords out to his sides and easily hacked the two men in half.

Blood poured from the two halves of each of their bodies. Sasaku closed the gates and lowered his Tomokenzan Kagamimanako. He sheathed the swords and looked back at the men. They lay each in two halves in puddles of their own blood. He panted and caught his breath, then got off the bike. Sasaku walked over to the men and examined their bike. There was a wallet with a fair amount of money in it.

Pocketing it, Sasaku turned to the bodies and said, "Don't mess with the best!" He grinned, and then slapped himself for acting so stupid with nobody around. He walked back to the Harley and swore when he saw what was on it. Around the front, just above the headlight, there was a scratch about a half-inch in length. He wiped his hand over his face. "Ichigo's gonna kill me..."

*************************

Ichigo suddenly bolted upright. He was lying in his bed. Kira stirred next to him. "Is something wrong?" she asked. Ichigo gripped the blanket that covered them. "I've got this really weird feeling," he said, "I... I feel like someone close to me has just been... I don't know, but I've got a really bad feeling..." Kira sighed. "Just get up and get ready." she said, "Don't you have a job interview today?"

"Oh crap you're right!" he said, bursting up.

*************************

Naruto yawned as he slowly woke up. _'Man, that was so awesome last night!'_ he thought. _'I'm gonna have to thank Sasaku for that one.'_ He sat up and looked at the clock. Naruto didn't move for a few seconds. It was an analog and took him some time to read. Then he swore and got up. Class was to start in ten minutes.

Last night was awesome, but the next time he did that, it probably shouldn't be on a Tuesday night. _'Man, why do I always sleep in on these things?!?!?!'_ he thought as he got ready.

_To be continued..._

**I am sorry for writing such short chapters, but these fillers are hard for me to keep at a good length. Am I right though? How many of you have not had the attention span to keep writing the fillers so they're as long as the other chapters? If you're anything like me, you try to get more words in there with these author notes...**

**...**

**...you did not just see me type that.**


	53. Home At Last

Sasaku swallowed hard as he walked up to the door. He stood there for a minute just standing, trying to convince himself to do it. He knocked. After a few seconds, the door opens. Sasaku's father stood there. His hair had receded a quarter on an inch and the sides had turned very slightly grey. Other then that, he looked the same; only Sasaku thought he seemed shorter.

"May I help you?" his dad asked. Sasaku remained silent for a minute. "Dad..." A gasp escaped from his dad's mouth. He embraced Sasaku in a hug, but Sasaku didn't return it. He stood there emotionless. When his dad backed off, he said, "Look at you! You've gotten taller and you're hair has grown. What happened to your eye? Well come in and we'll talk-"

"I ran into Ichigo." Sasaku's dad went totally silent. His lips curled and his eyebrows came closer together. "We do not speak that name in this house!" he hissed, "Your brother left and made enemies with us." Sasaku turned away. "He had good reason." he said. Sasaku's dad coughed, then put a hand on Sasaku's shoulder.

"I didn't do it to replace your mom." he said, "But you have to believe me, I was sad when she died and it was nearly impossible to get over the pain-"

"You got over it in six months." Sasaku said, "You had much to short a recovery time! How could you ever replace mom?!"

"That's enough!" his dad said, "I am your father, and I will not have you speak to me that way! I did what I felt I needed to do!" Sasaku lashed around and decked his father. He stood with his head down and his fist extended, and his dad remained standing with his head turned by the punch. A small drop of blood trailed onto his chin, then dripped onto the ground.

The two looked up into each other's eyes. "Daddy?" Sasaku's dad looked back to see a little girl standing behind him. She was only three or four, and had a stuffed white rabbit under her arm. "Daddy, who dat?" she said, pointing to Sasaku. Sasaku looked at his apparent stepsister. His dad looked down at her. "Nobody Sakura." He looked back at Sasaku.

Then Sasaku's dad walked back into the house. Sakura stepped out the door and looked at Sasaku. "You look farmilyar," she said, "are you da boy in the picture on daddy's desk?" Sasaku looked down at the little girl. She smiled up at him. He attempted a smile back, then walked over to the motorcycle without another word. He got on and put the goggles on.

"Goodbye Sasaku!" Sakura called at him. He looked over at her, and felt a tear come to his eye from behind the goggles. Sakura smiled and skipped back into the house while singing. The engine of the bike roared as he started it up. Sasaku needed to clear his mind, and seriously think. He looked around the area.

There were so many places around that reminded him of his family, way back when... He shook his head and drove on, stopping at a place to rest for the rest of the day and through the night. It was a hotel with a great hot spring. It was famous for how relaxing it was and how it helped to clear the mind. That was exactly what Sasaku needed.

After deciding to make a stay there, he dropped off all his stuff in the room and went straight for the hot springs. He sat there in silence alone. It was an odd time of day to be in the spring. _'I know he's my father,'_ he thought, _'but maybe I should forgive him. He always has bounced back kinda quick, so maybe he's... is he lonely and trying to fill the void me and mom left when she was killed and I left...?'_

He sighed and continued to think, sitting in the water for hours, barely noticing as other people came and left. Finally, he got out and decided he needed to grab a bite to eat. He put on his clothes and began to walk through the place he'd grown up. It all seemed so close, yet alien to him. Nostalgia was the only word that could describe how he felt.

Sasaku stopped in front of this old hole-in-the-wall restaurant. It was where his family used to eat dinner all the time. He wiped his hand over his headband and walked in. It was the exact same as when he'd left. It had the air of a place from the sixties. He smiled and sat at the bar. There he got his food and ate. This was where Sasaku had been the night before the incident had happened.

He sighed and finished his dinner. "No way!" a voice said from behind him, "Enkou Sasaku is that you?!?" He turned around. There stood a beautiful girl with short brown hair. She wore a green sweater and blue shorts. "No freakin' way," Sasaku said with his mouth hanging open, "Sarutobi Yumi?!" He ran up to her and the two grabbed each other in a hug.

When they let go, Yumi looked at him and said, "You didn't even say goodbye to me when you left. Even after how many times I visited you in the hospital." Sasaku laughed. "I'm sorry," he said, "I had a lot on my mind at the time. But man, you look great! How's it been over the past year?"

"It's been really good." Yumi replied, "Everything is moving at such a fast pace. My baby brother was born a month after you left. My mom actually named him after you!" Sasaku stared at her with a grin. Then the two stood there for a moment. "So, how's it in Konoha?" Yumi asked.

"Oh, it's amazing there!" he said, "I've done so much. I've got so many new friends too! There's Naruto, Sasuke, In-" Sasaku stopped for a minute. His smile faded and he slightly downcast his head. "Yumi," he said, "tell me something, and I want the truth. Have you waited for me this whole time, or have you seen other people?" Yumi got a questioning look on her face. "I'll always wait for you." she said.

Sasaku looked her in the eyes, then left without another word. He walked a few steps from the restaurant. "Sasaku, what's the matter?" she asked walking up to him. The light from the full moon shone on her face as he turned to look at her. "Yumi..." he said, "We need to talk..."

_To be continued..._


	54. Forgiveness?

"Yumi..." Sasaku said, "we need to talk..." He sighed and rubbed his eye with his palm as they walked. "So what do you need to talk about?" Yumi asked. Sasaku thought how he would word this. "Here's the deal," he said, "I'm staying in Konoha, and I don't think I'll be coming back. I've got a life there that I never had here. I only came back to finish things up, and that's it."

The two of them walked in silence. "You met someone else, didn't you?" Yumi asked. Sasaku sighed. "Yumi," he said, "we had only been going out two weeks before I left. Did you honestly think that it was serious?"

"I only hoped..." Sasaku looked away and swore at himself. He'd just said the wrong thing. The big time wrong thing. The kind of thing you regret saying for a long time. Yumi began to cry a little. "After waiting for one year," she said, "this is the thanks I get?" Sasaku put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She whipped around and kissed him, catching him off guard. A flash went off from beside them. "Got it!" yelled a girl holding a camera.

Yumi smiled and ran off with the other girl. Sasaku stared with his jaw dropped. He smacked his headband and began laughing. He lightly punched himself in the face. _'Oh man,'_ he thought, _'I just got __USED__!'_ He laughed all the way back to the hotel. Then he sighed, flopped down on his bed, and drifted off to sleep.

*************************

Sasaku woke up and stretched out on the bed. He threw his legs over the side and sat up. He stayed there for a minute before getting up and throwing a shirt on. He lumbered out and put o the rest of his stuff, including the swords. He grabbed his pack and walked out. Deciding he'd skip breakfast, he simply got onto the motorcycle and went to his old house.

When he pulled up to the front yard, Sasaku was still unsure about what he wanted to do. Finally, he pulled out a piece of paper and began writing. He set the note on the doorstep, knocked, and walked away. Sasaku's dad opened the door just as Sasaku sped off. "Sasaku, wait!" he said, but it was too late. He looked down at the note, then picked it up and read it.

_Dad,_

_I'm sorry, but I'm going to need some time. I'm not mad at you, just shocked. I hope you can forgive me for how I reacted. When I'm ready, I'll write to you. I just want you to know that I still love you, and I think I understand why you did what you did. However, I'm not sure if I can deal with having a step mom or stepsister. All I want is a lot of time to think._

_Sasaku._

Sasaku's dad sighed with relief before walking back inside.

*************************

_1 month after Sasaku left the Village Hidden in the Leaves..._

The roar of the motor on the bike died as Sasaku pulled up to the gate of Konoha. "Welcome back Sasaku." he said to himself as he made his way towards Ichigo's house. Once he got there, he simply opened the garage and put the bike away. Then he tiptoed out, but a light flashed on. He turned around and saw Ichigo sitting in a chair by the door.

"What is it Sasaku?" he said, standing, "Do you not want to tell your brother you're back?" Sasaku backed into the garage door. "I just thought," he said, "you know, you might not be home?" Ichigo kept his stare on Sasaku. He walked over to the bike and walked around it, inspecting it up and down. He stopped suddenly. Sasaku swore.

"What's this?" Ichigo asked, pointing to the small scratch in the paint just above the headlight. Sasaku stuttered a bunch of gibberish. Ichigo tilted his head and flashed Sasaku a demented smile. "You betta' run boy!" he said. Sasaku bolted and Ichigo ran right after him.

Naruto was walking through the street. He noticed someone running quickly towards him. He squinted to see Sasaku running with a horrified look on his face. "Hey!" he said, "Sasaku, you're back!" Sasaku just ran past. Someone Naruto didn't know jogged past panting. "Sasaku," he hoarsely called, "wait up, so I can kick your butt!" He continued on, obviously not in as good shape as Sasaku.

Sasaku sprinted to his apartment and swung into the window. He watched as Ichigo ran by, looking left and right. _'Oh yeah,'_ Sasaku thought, _'Ichigo doesn't know where I live...'_ He sighed with relief and walked into the main room. To his surprise, no one had broken in. There were two folded notes that had been slid under his door. He opened them both, and they almost said the exact same thing.

_Thank you Sasaku. Thanks to your advice, I was finally able to show courage around the one I liked. It was all thanks to you. If you hadn't told me what to do, I don't think it ever would have happened. I'm really grateful._

One was from Naruto, and the other Hinata. Sasaku smiled and folded the two notes. They'd finally gotten their crushes. Sasaku yawned and laid down for a mid-morning nap. His brain was on almost no sleep from the trip back. Suddenly, he put two and two together. He burst upright. "Naruto liked Hinata!" he exclaimed.

Shaking his head, Sasaku laughed that the two had liked each other, but been too nervous to do anything about it. Sasaku could understand with Hinata, but Naruto?! After what he'd done for Karei, well... Sasaku lay back down. That's when he burst upright and put two and three together. "Ino!" he exclaimed.

Sasaku grabbed his jacket and threw on a couple of his dog tag necklaces. He slid on his gloves and lowered his goggles around his neck. After confirming his appearance in the mirror, he walked out the door. It had been a full month since he'd seen Ino. As he locked the door to his apartment, he realized how seriously he was taking this. _'I could actually be getting somewhere with this one...'_

_To be continued..._


	55. Girls

As Sasaku walked through town, he noticed Sasuke through the window of a music store. Curious, Sasaku walked in. "Hey Sasuke!" he said. Sasuke turned around to see him. He held a brightly polished blue and yellow clay ocarina in his hands. "Hey." he said, "What're you doing here?"

"Wanted to see what you were doing." Sasaku replied. Sasuke shrugged. He put the ocarina back on the shelf he got it from. "I accidentally busted my wooden ocarina," he said, "so I'm looking into a new one. I need it for a couple of the jutsu I've either developed or made easier." Sasaku laughed. "How'd you break a wooden ocarina?"

Sasuke shook his head and said, "Long story..." Then something caught Sasaku's eye. It was an acoustic guitar, plain and simple, but nevertheless, it called out to him. _'I became a ninja,'_ he thought, _'I beat multiple enemies, I've traveled across the sea three times, I've mastered the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako, I suppose I could learn to play guitar. I've got the extra cash. I mean, how hard could it be?'_

After thinking a minute, he bought the guitar. He'd learn to play it sometime. So he asked the store clerk to hold it for him as he went to visit Ino. As he walked to her house, he realized there were so many songs on his mp3 player he could learn. Ino's house approached. He walked up to the door and knocked. A man that appeared to be Ino's dad answered the door.

"Hello," he said, "what do you want?" Sasaku shifted his feet. "Is Ino here?" he asked. Her dad nodded and shut the door. A few moments later, he came back out. "Sorry," he said, "she's a little busy, and can't talk to anyone."

"With what?" Sasaku asked. Ino's dad shrugged and closed the door. Sasaku raised and eyebrow. Without thinking, he turned on his Byakugan and looked through the house. He found Ino in her room on the second floor face down on her bed crying into a pillow. Sasaku lowered the Byakugan and swore at himself. "You idiot!" he said, "You could have just walked away without getting caught in all the drama!"

It killed him to see her like this, but he hated these kinds of things. Whenever a girl got like Ino was now, he would always end up saying the wrong thing or acting the wrong way. But this, no, this kind of thing was tearing Sasaku apart. He paced back and forth, contemplating what he should do.

"Just back away, Sasaku." he said, "You'll only make things worse!" Then he walked around her house, jumped onto the roof in front of her window and knocked. "Great advice!" he whispered to himself, "Wish I would've taken it!" Ino looked up and saw Sasaku. A smile crossed her face and she ran to the window. She opened it and threw her arms around him, almost knocking him off the roof.

"I'm glad you're back!" she said, still holding onto him, "If I would've known it was you at the door, I would've come down in a heartbeat." The two let go and Sasaku looked into Ino's eyes. He could see something was troubling her. "Is something wrong?" he asked, "You look like you might've been crying." Ino sighed and closed her eyes. Then she pulled Sasaku closer and began crying into his shoulder. _'This is so unlike her.'_ he thought, _'Wait! Now what do I do? Do I need to hug her back or just let her stay there?! Should I ask her what's wrong?!? Should I say something to comfort her?! What?'_

Sasaku slowly put one arm around Ino's back, and the other on the back of Ino's head. He shifted so he was sitting on the windowsill now. "So what happened?" Through her tears, Ino exlained what had happened. Sasaku held her tightly, and said a few comforting words, but just let her say what she needed to. As she explained, Sasaku felt himself almost become emotional, something that he'd never expected to happen before.

Ino stayed there crying for a few minutes, before her breathing became heavy and it was apparent she'd fallen asleep. Sasaku pulled her away and laid her down in her bed. Then he jumped out the window and walked away from the house. He stopped by the music store and picked up the guitar. Then he walked home. As soon as he got to the apartment, he threw his swords down, took off his headband, gloves, and goggles, and fell asleep on the couch.

*************************

Sasaku heard a knock on his door. He barely cracked his eyes opened, then swung his legs over the couch and wobbled to the door. He opened it and Naruto stood there, all ready to go in his ninja gear. Sasaku blinked at him with half closed eyes. "Hey, dude," Naruto asked, "ya got any milk?" Sasaku blinked and shook his head.

"... Went bad... trip..." he mumbled. The exhaustion from the trip had finally caught up to him. "Alright," Naruto said, eyeing Sasaku's bed head and messy clothes, "You better get ready if you're gonna make it to class." Sasaku tilted his head back and forth. "... no... class on... today's sundae..."*

"No," Naruto said, as if he were talking to a three-year-old "today's Thursday." Sasaku muttered something and closed the door. Naruto raised an eyebrow and began to walk away. Suddenly, he heard from behind the door, "CRAP! CLASS IS TODAY!!!" a moment later, Sasaku jumped out the door with all his gear on.

He grabbed Naruto by the shirt and began running, dragging Naruto behind him. "Sasaku, stop!" Naruto yelled, "It doesn't start for an hour!" Sasaku came to a sudden halt and turned to Naruto. He let go of his shirt and leaned up against a wall. "Dude," Sasaku said, "I am so flaming tired from the trip..."

_To be continued..._

***Yes, Sasaku said that today was sundae.**


	56. Happenings in Oto

**Sorry for the late update, I haven't been able to access the Internet for a while now. I hope you weren't waiting to long. Read and review!**

Suzaku picked up another stack of papers and began comparing to the one he'd just finished with. Unfortunately, they didn't match up. He threw them back on the table in frustration. He'd been here for almost three months. "I will need another year at least to do all of this!" he said. In Oto, they'd gotten a new Otokage and had started over. It seemed they were just about in order.

Suzaku made a couple of hand signs, then bit his thumb and placed his palm on the ground. In a puff of smoke, Taka appeared. He squawked, then looked at Suzaku. Suzaku wrote a small note and attached it to Taka's leg. "Now go find Sasuke!" he said. The bird nodded and flew off towards the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

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Sasuke walked through the village from class. He saw a bird flying overhead and noticed the feather colors. It was Taka. The falcon swooped in towards him. It landed on his outstretched arm. Taka squawked as Sasuke undid the note from his leg. Sasuke read it, then twice more before sighing and walking towards the Hokage mansion.

Sasuke walked in and came to the door of the Hokage office. He knocked and no response came. Then he came into the room. A heavy blast of the smell of alcohol filled his nose. He put a hand over his mouth and nose and his head throbbed. He walked over to Tsunade, who was passed out on the table. "Lady Tsunade." he said.

Tsunade muttered something and slowly rose. She rubbed her head and looked at Sasuke. "What do you want?" she barked, "I was in the middle of something." Sasuke sighed and looked at her. She leaned a bit to the left and wobbled. "I got a message from Suzaku." he said, causing Tsunade to burst upright.

"He said that he'll be staying in the Hidden Sound Village a while longer." Sasuke said, "He says that the people of Oto still haven't gotten themselves in order since the loss of Orochimaru." Tsunade rested her chin on her locked fingers. "How much longer are we looking at?" she asked. Sasuke looked at the note. "About a year."

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Suzaku lay on a couch resting his brain. Suddenly he heard, ever so faintly, his name screamed by an enraged Tsunade. _'Feel sorry for Sasuke right now,'_ he thought, _'He's probably in the room right now with the old hag...'_ He sat up and looked at the large stack of papers he'd salvaged from the remainder of Orochimaru's home. Along with that, on a string around his neck, was a bone he excavated from Kimimaro's body.

Sighing, Suzaku touched the bone to his lips as he stared at the coded sheets of paper. He picked up the one he'd gotten the farthest on decoding. Then he took a pencil and began changing some of the items he'd decoded, just randomly, on a whim. Then Suzaku marveled at what he'd done. He'd got it right! He jumped up and shouted random exclamations of joy.

Then Suzaku began to use what he'd found to decode others. Unfortunately for him, not all of them used the same coding, so it would still take a while. But now, Suzaku could use and practice what he'd found. But for now, his hand scribbled down endless notes and instructions. _'I'm a good way closer now!'_

*************************

"Get back here!" Naruto yelled as he chased Sasaku. Sasaku just laughed and sped around a corner. Then he bumped into Ichigo. "Sup bro?" he asked, with a weird smile. Sasaku backed up, then saw Naruto running towards him from behind. He looked back and his brother was running at him as well.

He jumped up, and Naruto and Ichigo slammed headlong into each other. Sasaku laughed and ran across the roofs. Naruto got up and made quick pursuit, while Ichigo got up and stared after them. He'd get his brother eventually. Sasaku laughed all the way back to his apartment. Instead, though, he ran into Naruto's.

Naruto ran in quickly afterwards, and a bucket of ice water dumped on him. He snapped and tore the bucket off of his head, then looked around the room. Smiling, he turned on the ceiling fan. After a minute of getting faster and faster, Sasaku came flying off of it, landing upside down against a wall.

Naruto hovered over him. "Gotcha!" he said. Sasaku smiled and grabbed Naruto's ankles. Then he flipped him over and ran. Naruto yelled after him, then slammed his front door. _'Man I love this crap!'_ Sasaku thought as he jumped away. He picked up some groceries and went back to his apartment. As soon as he walked in, he held a hand up to prevent a pan from hitting his head.

He stepped over the tripwire, and set down the groceries. Then he randomly shouted. "Ow! It hurts!" Naruto immediately ran in and set off the tripwire. A net sprang up around him and held him in the air. His weapon pouch fell to the ground. Sasaku went over and picked it up. Blue ink sprayed out of it and covered Sasaku. He fell back and swore.

The Naruto clone that was caught in the net disappeared, and Naruto walked into the room. "Eat that!" he said. Then the Sasaku clone covered in blue ink disappeared. Naruto spun around in time to see a foot coming towards his face. He ducked under it and Sasaku threw a white powder in his face. Naruto cried out, but the powder clumped in his mouth.

"What is this crap?!?" Naruto yelled after spitting it out, "It tastes horrible!" Sasaku opened the front door and said, "It's flour, now leave." The door shut and there was a loud commotion behind it. Then Naruto fell out the door on his face. "Don't mess with the best!" Sasaku said from behind him. Naruto frowned and looked back. Sasaku closed the door. "I wont lose next time!" he shouted, "Believe it!"

_To be continued..._


	57. Escorting the Prince

There was a loud knock on Sasaku's door. He pulled himself away from the game of sudoku he was playing and answered it. Karei was standing there. "Get to Lady Tsunade's office as fast as possible," she said, "our squad has a mission!" Sasaku nodded, then walked back inside. He got ready, then came out and went to the Hokage mansion.

Raiden was already there, and Karei came in soon after Sasaku. After a while of waiting, Ishimaru walked in with a mixture of tired and lazy glued on his face. "Now that you're all here," Tsunade said, "there is a mission that I have for team *Storm. You guys are going to be escorting the prince of the Moon Country to his home. It should be pretty simple, you only need to follow him and his son and protect them. If anything happens to the prince, it will cause international turmoil."

"So, where exactly are we going?" Sasaku asked.

"It's a small country with a constant summer." Tsunade said, "It has many great tourist attractions, and is well known for the gambling establishments. I'd like to go there sometime myself. The prince will be traveling home from visiting various other countries. The last escorts were treated harshly and bailed, so I hope you can pull through to the end. Now, I'd normally send Jounin on this mission, but I think you'll do. You leave immediately."

"Can we do it tomorrow?" Ishimaru asked, "I'm on like no sleep and-"

"GO!" Tsunade yelled. Ishimaru groaned, and the squad left the room. They walked to the front gate as Raiden went over the specifics of the mission. "Now, it will be hot there," he said, "so I suggest you go home and change before we depart. Karei nodded and took off towards her home. Ishimaru took a kunai and cut off his sleeves. "I'll be fine!" Sasaku said. Ishimaru snickered and eyed his black jacket and pants. They got to the front gate of the village and only had to wait a minute before Karei came, and they took off.

*************************

The trio was walking through a desert. "Hey," Ishimaru said, "are we at the rendezvous point yet?" Sasaku groaned. "We get there when we get there!" he said. A few moments of silence went by. "Are we there yet?" Ishimaru asked. Sasaku screamed into the air. "When are you gonna give it a rest?!?" he yelled at Ishimaru, "You've been doing that for the past half-hour!!!" He crossed his arms and looked away. A minute of silence went by.

"Are we there yet?" Ishimaru asked. Sasaku smacked his forehead and wiped down over his face. Then he saw a caravan closing in on them. "What," he said, "is all this stuff?" It passed them and stopped when they were around the middle of the long line of carriages. A plump man wearing extravagant clothing stepped out. "This is all the stuff I bought on my travels." he said, "There were just so many great things, I simply had to have them!"

"Ah, you must be Prince Michiru," Raiden said, "We're the ninjas sent from Konoha to protect you. I am Arashi Raiden, and this is the squad I'm in charge of, Enkou Sasaku, Uindo Karei, and Keigai Ishimaru." He pointed to each of the kids as he said this. "Well," Michiru said, "it truly is an honor." Then an arrow with a suction cup on the end came from nowhere and stuck to Ishimaru's headband, knocking him over.

Ishimaru flung back up with a kunai at the ready. "We're under attack!" he yelled, looking around in every direction. A little boy stepped from behind Michiru out of the carriage. He wore a white and blue robe, along with round glasses. "Oh, pardon me," Michiru laughed, putting a hand on the boys head, "this is my son Hikaru." Hikaru stared at Ishiamru and adjusted his glasses.

"You'd be dead right now if that was real." Hikaru said. Ishimarus eye twitched. "What did you just-?!" Karei and Sasaku put a hand over his mouth. Raiden sighed. Michiru and Hikaru retook their places in the carriage. The squad all took positions around the large caravan. On one side was a steep, but short, mountain. They traveled for about 70 minutes before Sasaku noticed something with the Byakugan.

He caught up to Raiden and whispered in his ear, "There is a group of people gathering on both sides of us. They appear to be heavily armed. I'm unsure if they plan to attack, but we should be cautious." Raiden nodded. "Inform the others." he said, "But try not to worry anyone." Sasaku jumped around the caravan and told Ishimaru and Karei. Afterwards, he retook his position near Michiru's coach.

After a few minutes, there came battle cries from both sides of the caravan. Men with swords charged the line of carriages. Sasaku whipped out his katanas, Karei began to weave hand signs, and Ishimaru started the Earth Manipulation. Ishimaru moved his hands in a flurry and a wall of earth came crashing down on some of the attackers on the mountain. Then he jumped up to them for some close combat.

Sasaku's swords were covered in lightning as he fended off twelve men. Karei unleashed a genjutsu that knocked some of the men out. Raiden came in with the Chidori and got a man that was being careless. Ishimaru ducked under a sword and punched the man in the jaw, cracking his knuckles. Then he whipped around and pierced a man in the heart with a thin strip of rock. The man fell to the ground, plastering it.

Then Ishimaru lifted a chunk of stone into the air and jumped onto it, floating on it. He threw a kunai at some of the men and before they realized it the paper bomb blasted them. Within a few minutes, the squad had dispatched of all the attackers. They all then took their places and continued for the rest of the day.

_To be continued..._

***Raidens last name, Arashi, means Storm.**


	58. Chamu

"Are you flaming KIDDING ME?!?" Sasaku yelled. The caravan team Storm was to be guarding had just pulled up to a circus. Michiru and Hikaru stepped out. They walked into the tent, with two men following, holding fans over them. Karei and Ishimaru began to follow as well. "I'll just stay out here," Sasaku said, "I can keep an eye out for possible attackers."

"Oh, come on!" Karei said, grabbing his hand, "Raiden-sensei is already watching out. It'll be fun!" Sasaku tried to hold his ground as Karei dragged him towards the tent. Ishimaru laughed. "If I didn't know better," he said, "I'd think you were scared to go in!" Sasaku glared at Ishimaru, then freed his hand from Karei's grip. Then he walked into the circus tent. Ishimaru smiled and followed, along with Karei. The three of them sat down in the back and watched the show.

"Whew," Sasaku muttered, "it's an animal circus..."

"You say somethin'?" Ishimaru asked. Sasaku vigorously shook his head. Ishimaru eyed him and continued watching the show. A little later on in the act, a clown came out and began cracking jokes to the audience. As Ishimaru laughed like crazy, he turned to Sasaku, who was white as a ghost. Ishimaru began laughing even harder now. "Okay, really?!?" Ishimaru laughed, "CLOWNS?!?!"

He felt an insane pain at the top of his head as Karei punched him. "Shut up!" she said, "You should make fun of Coulrophobia!" Ishimaru repeated her mockingly, earning him another punch in the head. Ishimaru fell to the ground and got up quickly. He sat down and was silent for a minute. "I mean," he said, "we're talking about the guy who was able to defeat Sasuke, being afraid of clo-!" Need I really explain what happened next?

Ishimaru sat with stars in his eyes and Sasaku sighed as the clown walked off. Then the ringleader stepped up. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he called, "Today, you will get to see a very rare animal. It's a Siberian Tiger, the only one in captivity. Now, please, put your hands together for Chamu, and his assistant, Kiki!" A spotlight shone on a grey sabertooth tiger as it stepped out onto a platform.

The tiger jumped down and a small monkey jumped onto its head. It began charging around the stage, jumping through hoops of fire, and other great stuff. Hikaru really seemed to be enjoying himself as he watched. Sasaku yawned. "You've seen one tiger, you've seen 'em all!" he yawned. He heard a low growl resonating within his head and put a hand on the hilt of the Kumori Tora.

Then Kiki (the monkey) stood up and began spinning an apple on its finger. It then threw it up into the air, and an arrow pierced through it. Chamu then stood on two legs, and Kiki stood up on his head. It began to spin the apple on its finger again. "Now," the ringmaster announced, "this will need to be a skilled shot. If he misses, Kiki and Chamu could be in danger! Will he do it?"

The man knocked an arrow and took aim. _Twang._ A toy arrow hit the side of the apple and knocked it out of Kiki's hand. The animals stared at the apple in wonder. A spotlight moved over the crowd to Hikaru in the front row. He closed his eyes and lowered the bow. "Ha, easy shot!" he muttered. The ringmaster stared at Hikaru, then said, "Well son, that was quite a shot, but can you make, this one?!"

Kiki began spinning another apple. Then Chamu began to trot around the stage with Kiki on his head. Hikaru began to take aim. "Now," the ringmaster said, "if you can make this shot, I'll give ya' something!" Everyone in the tent fell silent as they waited. Hikaru focused the bow into the place in which the apple kept crossing, waited for the right time, and loosed the arrow. It hit the apple dead on.

The crowd roared. "Wow," the ringmaster said, stunned, "that was g-great. Hm, I really should give you something for that..." He put his hand on his face and began to think. Hikaru pointed towards Chamu. "I want him!" he said. The ringmaster looked at Hikaru in shock. "I-I'm sorry," he said, "but I don't think I could just give him to you. No, he's much to-"

"Is it alright with you papa?" Hikaru asked Michiru. Michiru nodded. "You know," he said, "I've kind of taken a liking to this whole circus. I think I'll buy it all!"

*************************

Sasaku's eyes widened. He was peering over the shoulder of Michiru as he finished writing the ringmasters check. Michiru handed to him. "Now," he said, "you'll be paid in cash as soon as we get there." The ringmaster nodded and pocketed the check, unknowing of what to say. Sasaku walked back over to his teammates. "How was it?" Karei asked.

Sasaku shook his head. "The last time I saw that many zeroes," he said, "I was looking at the scoreboard of the last X-games I went to." Ishimaru laughed, then tensed up. He watched Hikaru go over to Kiki and offer the monkey an apple. Kiki walked over to him, and Hikaru smiled. Then he ran off with Kiki. They turned a corner and Hikaru saw Chamu lying in the shade.

Chamu cracked open an eye and looked at Hikaru, then closed it again. Hikaru inched foreword, extending the apple towards Chamu. Chamu growled and jumped at Hikaru. The ringmaster and Michiru heard and ran towards the noise. Chamu was about to land on Hikaru when Ishimaru grabbed him and got him out of the way. He leaned against a wall, holding Hikaru.

"That was a close one." he said. Hikaru looked at Ishimaru, then broke free of his grasp. The ringmaster began lecturing Hikaru on how dangerous Chamu was. Ishimaru stood up, and shouldered past Sasaku and Karei. Sasaku gripped the swords. _'Are they all that aggressive?'_ he thought. Another low growl sounded off in his head.

_To be continued..._

**Just do me a favor and don't even ask, okay? R&R!**


	59. Mistake in Teaching

Team Storm walked alongside Michirus carriage as it went off towards somewhere other than the docks. "Papa?" Hikaru said, "Where are we going." Michiru smiled and looked at the pile of flowers in the carriage. "We're going to see your mother." he said. Hikaru gasped. The carriage went up to a house and stopped. There was a woman collecting berries from her garden. Michiru stepped out carrying as many flowers as he could hold. Hikaru stepped out behind him.

The woman looked at them for a second, then gasped. She dropped the berries and ran up towards them. Michiru extended his arms, yelling "Amayo!" She ran right past him and knelt down to hug Hikaru. She softly said his name. Michiru held the bouquet of flowers towards her and cleared his throat. Amayo looked up to him. "I'm sorry, who are you?" she asked. Michiru's jaw dropped.

Sasaku and Ishimaru stepped behind the carriage and began cracking up. "Burn!" Sasaku laughed. Karei hit both of them across the face, knocking them into the carriage. "What?!" Michiru yelled, "How can you not remember me?!?" Amayo squinted her eyes and stared at Michiru. "No way..." she said, "Michiru? It can't be you, you've gotten so... so, so so... fat!" Ishimaru and Sasaku began to crack up again.

"I've only been eating this whole time to fill the hole you left!" Michiru said, "The only time I can ever feel at peace since you left is when I'm eating!" After a little bit more talking, they went inside. Sasaku laughed a little more and leaned up against the carriage. "Dude," he said, "that's great! His own wife forgot who he was!" Ishimaru laughed again.

"Yeah," he said, "I can see it now, one day the same things going to happen to you!" Sasaku glared at him, and Karei almost laughed. Sasaku closed his eyes. "Why don't you try to tell that to my ex." he said. Ishimaru stopped immediately. "You have an ex?" he asked, "What's she look like?" Sasaku pulled out a plastic case. He opened it and a huge line of pictures fell to the ground and continued rolling on the floor. Each one had a different girl on it, and a letter, either "A" "B" "C" "D" or "F". The one at the top was Ino, with an "A", and the one right under it was Yumi, with a "C".

Ishimaru picked up the bottom and began to work his way up. "All of them are ex's?" he asked.

"All but the top!" Sasaku smiled. Karei sighed. "That is so shallow!" she said. Sasaku retorted, "No it aint! The grades are based on personality!" Ishimaru nodded. "Obviously!" he said, "I'd rate all of these girls an 'A'! Hey, why's she an 'F'?" Ishimaru pointed to a picture of Karei. Sasaku turned white. Karei cracked her knuckles. "We never went out," she said, "how could you judge me?"

"It was based off of your date with Naruto!" he said, hoping to save himself. Then he realized he'd said the wrong thing.

*************************

"Earth Style:" Ishimaru said, making the sign of the snake, "Earth Manipulation!" A chunk of the ground came up and Sasaku crawled out of the hole. Karei walked back down the road next to the moving carriage. Sasaku wiped the blood off of his nose and massaged his black eye. It was the same one with the scar on it. Ishimaru undid the jutsu and dropped the rock back into the hole.

"I think I'd have rather eaten scorpions again..." Sasaku said, dusting himself off. Ishimaru shrugged. "Don't follow them next time." he said.

"I wasn't following them!" Sasaku yelled, "I was... making... sure Naruto... didn't try to..." Ishimaru sighed and walked off after Karei. Sasaku walked on the other side of the carriage. The meeting with Amayo had not gone well. They went to the dock and Michiru began checking to see that all of his belongings were getting on. Sasaku thought they might need to make a second trip. Hikaru sat on the edge of the dock, playing his game.

Ishimaru began making dinner for himself, a cup of homemade ramen. He began eating and Karei got up, saying she'd go help with the loading. Hikaru walked up to him. "Is that good?" Hikaru asked. Ishimaru shrugged. "Made it myself," he said, "I haven't gotten a second opinion yet. You probably wouldn't like it though, to plain." Hikaru looked down and Ishimaru finished and threw the cup behind him.

He then began to walk towards the ship. Hikaru walked after him. "You should be my servant!" he said. Ishimaru stopped dead in his tracks. "Not interested." he said, continuing walking. Hikaru followed after him. "Please?" he persisted, "I'll give you anything you want! Toys! Games! You na-"

"Look, kid!" Ishimaru growled, "You can't always get what you want just by wanting it! You gotta learn that!" He turned away from Hikaru and began walking again. Then a toy arrow hit him in the back of the head. He calmly removed it, then broke it in his hand. Then he turned towards Hikaru, his face red. Hikaru flinched. "You baka!" Ishimaru yelled, "I don't care if this causes a war! You're dead!"

He smacked Hikaru right across the face. They both remained silent for a moment, before Hikaru went to his knees and began to cry. Ishimaru stood over him with his arms crossed. "It's about time someone taught you that you can't always just get what you want just by wanting it! You gotta stop acting like such a brat, and start-" Ishimaru felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned around and saw Karei standing there, with an innocent smile on her face. He began to back away as she cracked her knuckles and walked towards him. She pulled a rope out from behind her. "Karei," he said, "what's with the rope? Karei? Karei I know what you're thinking, but.... Karei?! Karei he started it!!! GAAAAH!!!!!!!!"

_To be continued..._


	60. On the Ship, In the Storm

Ishimaru whined as he smelled the food in the air. It smelled so extravagant and he needed food in his stomach. The tossing of the ship had made him lose his lunch once already, and the hunger was driving him mad. "You know what you need to do," Karei taunted, waving some meat on a fork at him, "all you have to do is apologize." Ishimaru turned his back to her. Sasaku laughed and got up. He put a drop of sauce on Ishimarus nose.

"Come on Sasaku," Karei said, "that's just immature." Sasaku shrugged and grabbed his guitar case. "I'm gonna go get ready." he said, "When Michiru saw my guitar, he wondered if I'd play for the ship."

"You just barely started learning!" Karei said. Sasaku shrugged. "I'm getting pretty good pretty fast." he said, "What do you say Ishi?" Ishimaru was struggling on the ground, trying to lick the sauce off his nose. Sasaku was silent for a second before he cracked up. He then walked off, his black guitar case swung over his back. Karei sighed as Ishimaru tried to get at his nose again, coming so close, only to have the ship tumble and scraped his tongue on the wooden floor.

A couple of minutes went by before Sasaku came back out, on top of one of the cages. All of the people from the circus, Michiru, Raiden, and Karei were all there on deck having dinner, but no Hikaru. Sasaku just assumed he'd gone off to see Chamu again. He sighed and pulled out the guitar. The people in the crowd began to quiet down. Sasaku took in a breath to clear his thoughts, then began strumming. After a quick intro, he began to sing.

"This may never start.  
We could fall apart.  
And I'd be your memory.  
Lost your sense of fear.  
Feelings insincere.  
Can I be your memory?

So get back, back, back to where we lasted.  
Just like I imagine.  
I could never feel this way.  
So get back, back, back to the disaster.  
My heart's beating faster.  
Holding on to feel the same.

This may never start.  
I'll tear us apart.  
Cannot be your enemy.  
Losing half a year.  
Waiting for you here  
I'd be your anything.

So get back, back, back to where we lasted.  
Just like I imagine.  
I could never feel this way.  
So get back, back, back to the disaster.  
My heart's beating faster.  
Holding on to feel the same.

This may never start.  
Tearing out my heart.  
I'd be your memory.  
Lost your sense of fear.  
Feelings disappear.  
Can I be your memory?

So get back, back, back to where we lasted.  
Just like I imagine.  
I could never feel this way.  
So get back, back, back to the disaster.  
My heart's beating faster.  
Holding on to feel the same.

This may never start.  
We could fall apart  
And I'd be your memory.  
Lost your sense of fear.  
Feelings insincere.  
Can I be your memory?

Can I be your memory?"

Once he finished, everyone began to applaud for Sasaku. Karei was clapping like mad. Hikaru walked back from a darker part of the ship and went to sit with his dad. Sasaku took a bow and went and sat next to Karei. "That was amazing!" she told him. He just shrugged. Ishimaru was still trying to lick the sauce off of his nose. Sasaku finally took a napkin and wiped the sauce off his nose. "Sasaku..." Ishimaru whined.

*************************

"Come on, let's go!" Sasaku said as Ishimaru rolled up against a wall. He'd just undid the ropes, and Karei was already heading outside. "Hurry!" Sasaku said, again, "If we don't, all the animals will wash overboard!" Sasaku ran off down the corridor. Ishimaru was about to take off too, when Hikaru said behind him, "Just leave them." Ishimaru turned to look at him. "Just let them all drown!" Hikaru continued, "I don't care!"

"What?" Ishimaru said, walking over to Hikaru, "You're just going to throw them all away, just because you're bored of them? You're gonna let them die, while you stay safe in here?! Is that it?!?" He picked up Hikaru by the shirt and cocked his arm as if to punch him. Ishimaru stayed like that for a moment, before lowering his arm, throwing back Hiakru, and saying, "You're not even worth it! You're nothing but trash!" Ishimaru then walked down the hall, and broke into a light jog.

"I..." Hikaru muttered, "I'm not..." he looked up, "I'm not trash!" He got up and ran down the hallway, to the door. When he opened it, he saw only strong winds, sideways rain, and gigantic waves. The circus people and Team Storm was all gathering the animals and moving them inside. A man was trying to unlock Chamus cage, but the tiger roared at him and sent him running away.

Hikaru began walking through the wind and the rain. He stumbled and clung onto an elephants tusk. He looked down as Kiki clung to his leg. A wave crashed over the ship, almost knocking Hikaru away. "What're you doing?!?!" the ringmaster called to Hikaru. Hikaru pressed foreword, and the ship tossed, flinging Hkaru into the cage Chamu was in.

Everyone began calling for Hikaru, but he paid no heed to them. He grabbed the key and unlocked Chamus cage. He opened the door, and Chamu stepped out. Then a huge wave knocked Hikaru, Chamu, and Kiki all off the boat. "Hikaru!" Ishimaru called, diving off the side of the boat. Sasaku threw his jacket off and dove in afterwards. Ishimaru grabbed a hold of Hikaru, and then used Earth Manipulation to pull a rock from under the ocean up.

Sasaku got a hold of Chamu and Kiki and swam towards Ishimaru. He got to them and the giant rock Ishimaru was lifting got them up onto the ship. They got on and each of them collapsed on the deck. All was a blur as people began lifting them onto the bridge...

_To be continued..._

**Song: Memory (Acoustic)**

**Artist: Sugarcult**

**URL: timarshdi . net / music / sugarcult-memory . mp3 (need to get rid of spaces, was only way to get URL in).**

No significance to the story whatsoever, I just thought it'd be cool for he of many talents to have the ultimate talent. I swear, if this fanfic could be an anime, or even a manga... Read and review!


	61. Pleasant Welcome?

**I'd just like to give a shout out to Emo Wolves of Shadow! He's writing an awesome story with Sasaku in it. It's a little hard to follow if you've read this story, and REALLY hard to follow if you haven't. I mean the parts with Sasaku. I'd definitely recommend the story to anyone that likes this one. It's called **_**Ninja Fantasy I**_**. Also, just a cool fun fact, the crossover update on the site was my idea. True story. I hope you guys like it! Read and review!**

It was bright and sunny, and the small waves rolled and crashed up against the ship. Hikaru walked out onto the deck, and Kiki jumped into his arms. Then Chamu began to walk up to him. "Y-young master!" the ringmaster called to him. Chamu just walked around Hikaru, and lowered his head when he got in front of him. Hikaru looked down to Kiki, who made a petting motion. Hikaru stuck out his hand and began to stroke Chamu on the head.

Sasaku grinned and elbowed Ishimaru. Ishimaru made his way towards Hikaru, then lowered his head. "I..." he said, "I'm sorry!" Hikaru looked at him questioningly. "I'm sorry for what I said," he continued, "and I'm sorry for what I did. I was too harsh on you. What you did yesterday, that was amazing. Especially after what you'd said before." Hikaru lowered his head towards Ishimaru. "I'm sorry too." he said, "I just didn't get it, and you helped me when I needed it. I'm sorry, I only wanted to be your friend!"

"What?" Ishimaru asked, "Is that all? I'd be glad to be your friend!" Ishimaru smiled, and Hikaru smiled back. But Hikaru's smile slowly faded. "We're almost to the Land of the Moon," he said, "once we get there, we'll probably never see each other again." He slightly downcast his head. Ishimaru remained silent for a second.

"Alright!" he said, "Then let's make a promise! Let's promise to never forget each other after we split up!" He extended his hand, palm down. Hikaru nodded and put his hand on top. "Hey!" Karei, said, "We're in on this too!" She and Sasaku both walked over and placed their hands on top as well. Then Chamu jumped on, trying to put his paw on, knocking them all over. After a moment, they began to laugh, and laugh they did for a long time.

*************************

The ship had just arrived in the Land of the Moon. "We'll meet you at the palace." Michiru had told the circus, who wouldn't be coming until later. The city the group was in seemed empty and lifeless. "Come on!" Sasaku said, "I heard this place was like, the ultimate vacation spot! Where the crap is everybody?!?" Ishimaru sighed. "I swear Sasaku," he said, "will you just shut up!" Sasaku flinched at Ishimarus sudden change in mood.

Then Ishimaru flashed a smile at Sasaku. "What is with you?!?!" Sasaku yelled. Karei and Raiden both sighed. They continued walking through the streets until they made it to the palace. No one was there either. Michiru stepped out of the cart. "I was expecting more of a welcome..." he said. Suddenly, and man with a freaky moustache walked out onto a balcony. "Ah," Michiru said, "Shabadaba! How are you?"

Shabadaba stared at Michiru with a strange grin. Then Michiru looked around. "Shabadaba?" Michiru asked, "Where is my father?" After a moment of dramatic silence, Shabadaba spoke. "I'm afraid the king..." he said, "is dead!" Right on cue, soldiers began flowing down the stairs towards the carriage. "Get back in the carriage!" Raiden yelled, "NOW! Everyone, get ready!"

Michiru and Hikaru got back into the carriage, and it began to get away, but some attackers knocked off the driver. Sasaku drew his swords and began repelling the soldiers away from the carriage Then Karei got on top and began throwing kunai and shuriken left and right. Ishimaru made the sign of the snake and yelled, "Earth Style: Earth Manipulation!" A pillar of the ground lifted and knocked back some of the soldiers.

Raiden and Sasaku continued fighting on the ground, but there seemed to be no end to the soldiers. Then a carriage sped towards them. "Backup?" Sasaku grunted as he fended of four swords at once. Raiden said, "Yes, but for who?" The carriage stopped, and a man with short brown hair ran out yelling and waving a sword. He pushed back tons of the soldiers, who exclaimed, "Captain Korega!"

"Seize him!" Shabadaba yelled, "He is a traitor!"

"No you've got it wrong!" Korega yelled, "Shabadaba's the traitor!" A man almost got Korega, but Raiden stopped him. He and Korega stood back to back. "Thanks," Korega said, "who are you guys?" Raiden fended off an attacker. "Leaf Village shinobi," Raiden replied, "I'm Arashi Raiden, here to protect the prince. Can you get their carriage out of here?"

"Give me a sec!" Korega said, running towards the carriage. He took the reigns and lashed on them, causing the horses to lurch forward. "Everyone!" Raiden called, "Fall back!" Sasaku and Karei both left kunais with paper bombs, and Ishimaru made a wall of stone before the bombs blew up. It protected them from the blast, and Ishimaru stopped his Earth Manipulation as they ran off.

Korega and the others led the group to a cave. They came inside, and Michiru and Hikaru gasped when they saw an old man lying down. They ran up to him, and Michiru muttered something about his father. "There were opposing shinobi with strange powers." Korega said, "And one of them..." He pulled the blanket off of the king, revealing half his torso had been turned to stone. _'I recognize this jutsu,' _Ishimaru thought, _'but it can't be...'_

"Move over!" he said, nearly pushing Michiru aside. Everyone was surprised by his sudden outburst. He made the sign of the snake and his hands glowed green. He placed them on the king's chest, and the petrifaction began to inch towards Ishimarus hand, Ishimaru seeming to absorb the rock. Ishimaru looked at his shaking hands, then buried his face in them. He then took it out and looked towards Korega.

"You say this was a rouge shinobi?" he asked. Korega nodded. Ishimaru swore, then looked back to the king. "I can heal the effects of petrifaction, but I doubt I can undo any harm already done..." he said, looking down to the motionless king. "You seem to know a lot about this jutsu," Korega said. Ishimaru snorted. "I should, it's my fathers!"

_To be continued..._


	62. Ishidate

"Your father did this?!" Sasaku and Karei said at once. Everyone looked at Ishimaru in shock. "After my mom died," Ishimaru said, "my dad left, and I was placed into Raigas camp. I tried to escape once, but got caught. I was about to be buried alive when... Anyways, my dad's name is Ishidate. And to put it to you like this, I'm going to kill that God forsaken son of a-"

The king began to cough. Everyone turned to look at him, and Michiru and Hikaru hovered over him. The king's eyes cracked open slightly. "Michiru, my son," he said, "is that you?" Sasaku grabbed Ishimaru and pulled him off to the side. The king began talking with Michiru and Hikaru. Sasaku eyed Ishimaru carefully.

"Why do you want to kill your father?" he asked.

"He was a horrible father!" Ishimaru said, "He'd come home drunk and beat on me and my mom! He got involved in crimes that got us in debt! Sasaku, where I was staying at Raigas slave labor camp was better living than what my dad gave us! The only thing he's ever done for me is given me my Earth Manipulation, and his own technique."

"The petrifaction?"

"Yes. My father can petrify anything or anyone with his hand, but I can heal it to an extent. The petrifaction is stored inside me, like energy, and once I get to much, I can't heal anymore."

"So how do you get rid of the energy?" Ishimaru looked around, then picked up a centipede that was crawling by. It writhed in his hand and was slowly turned to stone. He dropped the bug and it shattered against the hard cave ground. Sasaku shivered. "How much of it can you hold?"

"About," Ishimaru said, thinking, "enough to petrify myself..." Behind them, Michiru and Hikaru began sobbing. They turned and saw the king's lifeless body. Sasaku lowered his head in silence, and said a quick prayer for his soul to rest.

*************************

The group of rebels and team Storm, along with Michiru and Hikaru, hid in the forest near a beach. "We have a boat coming," Korega explained, "so we can get Michiru and the prince out of here safely. They'll be going to one of the ally's of the Land of the Moon, where they can stay until things are cleared up here." A boat came into view. Korega made a motion with his hands, and the entire group began running at full speed. Hikaru looked back to see Michiru sitting against a tree.

He turned back. "Come on father!" Hikaru said, "Let's go!" Michiru looked up and stood. He began running behind Hikaru. Raiden looked back and groaned. "Karei!" he said. Karei nodded, and the two of them went back by Michiru. Sasaku and Ishimaru slowed their pace, so they were a short distance in front of them. Suddenly, a smoke bomb exploded around them. Ishimaru swore and tried to look around.

"Get Michiru to safety!!" Raiden called out. The smoke cleared soon, and the rebels ran to the group. Then three ninja appeared, all wearing huge wigs with metal plates on the front. One was a huge man with fat lips and small eyes. Then there was a small and young looking girl. In the middle was a middle height man with a strange glove on. Ishimaru looked at the three in shock.

"Kongou?" he said, looking at them, "Karenbana?! And...!" He glared at the man in the middle. The three of them smiled and looked at Ishimaru. "Well Ishi," Karenbana said, "who would've thought we'd see you here!" The man in the middle smiled at Ishimaru. "Ishidate!" Ishimaru said, "What are you doing here, of all places?!?"

"Well," Ishidate said, "that's no way to treat your own fa-!"

"SHUT UP!!!" Ishimaru yelled, making the sign of the snake. A giant spear of sand went into the air. It launched itself at the trio, and seemed to make contact. But, Kongou came in and threw Ishimaru into the air. Sasaku came in with the katanas, but Kongou grabbed his hair, and jumped, then slammed Sasaku face first into the ground. Sasaku stopped moving, half buried.

"Sasaku!" Karei yelled, but Karenbana jumped in front of her and blasted her sideways with a punch. Karei grabbed her face, and was soon surrounded by a bunch of flower petals. The petals spun around, and Karenbana disappeared within them. Karei was hit by an array of attacks. She began taking all the beating and was on the ground soon. A team of horses sped off with a bag with Michiru in it.

Ishimaru landed and launched a ton of sand at Kongou. He was behind Ishimaru after a second. A trail of blood came off a cut in his face. "Crap!" Ishimaru yelled, "They're using a gas to slow our reflexes!" Raiden began fighting Ishidate. They went at each other and clashed constantly. Raiden began taking damage after a minute. Then in the fight between Ishimaru and Kongou, he was thrown into the ocean, and didn't come back out.

Then Kongou got over to the boats and began knocking the rebels into the water, severely injuring them. He climbed into the last boat, the one with Hikaru in it. Hikaru, frightened, shot an arrow onto the metal plate on Kongous head. Kongou broke the arrow, and went for Hikaru again. He almost got to him, when there was a roar from the beach.

Sasaku stood there, holding the swords. The black chakra of the Kumori Tora was covering him, making some of the sand blow away from him. He had up his Tomokenzan Kagamimanako up. The scar on his eye began to bleed, and energy seemed to pulsate through the air every time he breathed. Everyone looked at Sasaku, with either shock or fear. Sasaku turned to Kongou.

_To be continued..._


	63. Weakened Seal

Sasaku let out a roar, and was next to Kongou in an instant. He hammered his face with the butt of his sword, sending Kongou flying sideways. He skipped across the water, and Sasaku appeared in front of him and kicked him onto the beach. Kongou landed face first in the sand, and Sasaku jumped onto the beach after him. Flower petals surrounded Sasaku, spinning quickly. Karenbana began slashing Sasaku's arms and back.

Sasaku crossed his arms across his chest, crossing the swords over his head as well as he hunched foreword. Then he burst open and let out a roar. All the petals scattered, and Karenbana flew back. Sasaku grabbed her ankle and chucked her into the ground. Then he hammered down on Kongou, who was struggling to get up. Then he beat Kongou into a tree.

Ishidate watched in shock. He suddenly heard the sound of birds behind him. He turned, and narrowly avoided a Chidori from Raiden. He then grabbed Raidens arm, and the arm turned to stone. Raiden swore and stumbled back. Then Korega came in at Ishidate with his sword waving. Ishidate grabbed his face and Korega turned to stone. Then Ishidate smiled, took the sword, and destroyed the statue of Korega. Raidens eyes widened and he stared in shock. Ishidate frowned when he saw the other two losing to Sasaku.

"Kongou! Karenbana! Fall back!" Ishidate called, "We've already got the king!" Karenbana and Kongou nodded and the three of them ran off in the direction of the horses. Sasaku panted, and the black chakra stopped flowing from the swords, and Sasaku fell to his knees and put a hand over the scar on his eye. A little bit of the excess chakra had made its way into the scar, and stayed there, burning; yet not healing it.

_'The sword gave me the wound,'_ Sasaku thought, _'maybe that's why it can't heal it...'_ Karei sat up in the sand, and Ishimaru crawled out of the water. Raiden fell to the ground and held onto his stone arm. The rebels looked at the broken pieces of Koregas stone body. Hikaru sat in the boat, his glasses cracked, and cried about his father.

*************************

The entire group sat down in a forest clearing, the rebels on one side, Team Storm on the other, and Hikaru in the middle. They sat in almost complete silence, aside from an animal every now and then. Finally, Ishimaru stood up. "There's no way around it!" he said, "We have to go to the palace and save the king!"

"Don't be foolish!" one of the rebels said, "If we go straight to the palace, we'll be killed by Shabadaba!"

"You coward!" another man said, "Captain Korega would've gone and saved the king no matter what!"

"But look what's happened to Korega!" the first man said.

"Either way, we have to go!" Ishimaru yelled. Hikaru shook his head. "We can't save him!" he said, "They're gonna kill my dad, and we're next!" He held back some tears. Ishimaru tried to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. He sat down and buried his face in his hands. Sasaku sat with his back turned to the group. He began to strum notes on the guitar. A few people looked up to him as he began to sing.

"You feel like a candle in a hurricane  
Just like a picture with a broken frame  
Alone and helpless  
Like you've lost your fight  
But you'll be alright "

Hikaru looked up at Sasaku, who closed his eyes and continued.

"You'll be alright

Cause when push comes to shove  
You taste what you're made of  
You might bend, till you break  
Cause it's all you can take  
On your knees you look up  
Decide you've had enough  
You get mad you get strong  
Wipe your hands shake it off  
Then you stand,  
Then you stand

Life's like a novel  
With the end ripped out  
The edge of a canyon  
With only one way down  
Take what you're given before it's gone  
Start holding on, keep holding on

Cause when push comes to shove  
You taste what you're made of  
You might bend, till you break  
Cause it's all you can take  
On your knees you look up  
Decide you've had enough  
You get mad you get strong  
Wipe your hands shake it off  
Then you Stand,  
Yeah, then you stand.

Every time you get up  
And get back in the race  
One more small piece of you  
Starts to fall into place

Cause when push comes to shove  
You taste what you're made of  
You might bend, till you break  
Cause it's all you can take  
On your knees you look up  
Decide you've had enough  
You get mad you get strong  
Wipe your hands shake it off  
Then you Stand,

Then you stand  
Yeah, then you stand.  
Yeah, then you stand.  
Yeah baby  
Then you stand"

Once Sasaku was finished, he stood up. "I know we can save Michiru!" he said, "All we need is a plan!" Suddenly, there was a crashing in the forest behind Hikaru. The squad got into defensive positions, and Chamu jumped out of the forest onto Hikaru. "Chamu!" Hikaru yelled. The ringleader and the rest of the circus soon followed. Sasaku smiled and began stroking his chin. "What're you thinking?" Karei asked.

"I'm thinking," Sasaku grinned, "that we just got our plan..."

_To be continued..._

**Song: Stand  
Artist: Rascal Flatts  
URL: www3 . telus . net / public / parobert / Pics%20for%20Gaia / 01%20Stand . mp3 (don't forget to take out the spaces)**

**Now, this is where something Sasaku sings actually has significance. Odds are, this'll be the only time, maybe. Well, you never know until you write it, huh? Read and review!**


	64. Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom

**Sorry for the late update. I've had three issues that keep me from getting chapters up as often as I do. My Internet has been down for one, two being that I haven't seen the movie in a while, and last being that I've actually just had writers block. Yes, it happens to me too surprisingly. I hate it! I think I'd rather be sick in bed then sick in the mind (wow that came out wrong). Well, again, sorry. Read and review!**

Ishimaru, Sasaku, Karei, Hikaru, and the rebels all came through this secret passage into the palace. One of the rebels was explaining how only the king and his personal guards knew of the tunnel. Raiden and the circus were supposed to be making a distraction out front, and by the sound of things, it worked. The group ran up a staircase that led to the rest of the palace.

"Wait, Hikaru," one of the rebels said, "I think you should take these. They were made especially for you." He revealed to Hikaru a small batch of arrows. They fit his bow perfectly. "So," Sasaku asked, "where should we be going to find Michiru?" One of the rebels began to think. "Our best bet is the throne room." he said, "Shabadaba will probably have him killed there." Hikaru shuttered. Ishimaru noticed this.

"Don't worry," he said, "we'll get him. I wont let anything happen to you or Michiru!" Hikaru stared at him with starry eyes. Ishimaru closed his eyes and smiled. He extended his hand, palm down. "I promise!" Hikaru nodded and put his hand on too. Sasaku and Karei put their hands on as well. They all nodded to each other, and ran out the door, going through a hall into a large room.

Kongou stood there, staring at the group as they came in. He cracked a smile. "I knew the circus was just a distraction." he said. Ishimaru clenched his fist and stepped foreword, but Sasaku put an arm in front of him, cutting him off. "You and the others need to go get the king!" he said, "I still have some unfinished business with this guy!" Ishimaru nodded, and the group ran off. Kongou started to chase after them, but Sasaku got in front of him with the swords drawn.

Ishimaru glanced back down the stairs and the group emerged into a room. Karei threw a kunai at the wall the moment they got in. "Karei?!?" Ishimaru shouted, "What the-" But Karenbana appeared in the area Karei had thrown the kunai. She smiled and asked, "How'd you know?" Karei laughed. "Because," she said, "you smell! Like cheap perfume! It's really tacky!"

She turned her attention to Ishimaru. "Take Hikaru and go save Michiru!" she said. Ishimaru nodded, and he, Hikaru, and Chamu ran out of the room. Karei turned to face Karenbana. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and drew as many shuriken as she could hold. She then threw them at Karenbana, who vanished in a swirl of flower petals. Slashes showed up all along Kareis arms, back, stomach, and face.

Ishimaru and Hikaru ran up the stairs as fast as they could. When they came up, they were outside, and on top of one of the towers. There was a huge gap in between the tower they were on, and another tower. Michiru stood on a plank jutting out from the other tower with a noose around his neck. Shabadaba was watching from behind him. Hikaru called out for his dad. Michiru looked up to him.

"Speaking of fathers..." said a voice from behind Ishimaru. He whipped around and was greeted by a fist. He stumbled back and put a hand on his cheek. Ishidate stood in front of him, the eye on the back of his hand had opened. Stones shot up from the tower and began shooting at Ishimaru. He pulled up a rock of his own and used it to block. His got bigger as Ishidate's rammed into it.

Finally, Ishidate stopped launching the rocks. Ishimaru then took the rock and it spread into soft earth. It quickly rammed into Ishidate, who waved his arm and sent it flying in another direction. Ishimaru raised a hand above his head and his other hand straight down. He moved his arms in a circle and shot his right arm foreword, palm up. He grabbed the bicep of his right arm with his left hand.

The ground shook and a load of the ground from the tower under them shot at Ishidate. Ishidate smirked and jumped into the barrage. It suddenly stopped and fell down, shaking the tower. Ishimaru and Ishidate jumped at each other, and Ishidate grabbed a hold of Ishimaru's arm. It began to turn to stone, until Ishimaru punched him across the face, knocking him back.

Ishidate smiled and Ishimaru healed his arm. Then he launched another load of earth at Ishidate. Ishidate smiled and held out his hand. His eyes widened when the earth didn't stop. The earth rammed into him and knocked him off the tower. Ishidate waved his arms, and a stone hit Ishimaru in his back, knocking him off as well. They both fell to the ground, and Ishidate lay unmoving.

Hikaru looked over to his father. The board under Michiru began to crack. It broke, and Michiru hung there, completely limp. Hikaru called out for him again, and began crying. "Hikaru!" Ishimaru yelled, "It's never to late!" Hikaru stared at Ishimaru, then nodded and ran over to Chamu. "I'm gonna need your help!" he said, "Please!" He jumped onto Chamu's back, and Chamu ran to the opposite side of the tower.

Chamu ran across the tower, and jumped. Time seemed to slow as Hikaru took aim with the arrow. Ishimaru starred in awe as he passed perfectly across the large crescent moon. Hikaru opened both eyes and fired the arrow. It passed perfectly through the rope, and Michiru and Hikaru began to fall. Ishimaru made multiple hand signs, ending with the snake, and pressed his hands to the ground. The hard rocks turned soft and lifted up to catch Hikaru and Michiru.

The two landed perfectly unharmed. Ishimaru lowered them, and Hikaru got the noose off of his dad's neck. Then Ishimaru turned to his own father.

_To be continued..._


	65. Crescent Moon Kingdom Saved

Sasaku glared at Kongou, who cracked a smile at him. Sasaku ran at him at full speed, twirling the swords around him. He slashed at Kongou, who easily dodged it. Over and over again, Kongou avoided Sasaku's attacks. Sasaku spun around with a low kick. Kongou leapt over it and jumped away. Sasaku laughed. "Pretty agile for a big guy!" he said.

Kongou jumped at Sasaku and landed a punch in the pillar right behind him. Sasaku watched in shock as the pillar crumpled and collapsed. He turned back around and Kongou punched him in the chest. Sasaku was thrown back into a wall. He coughed up blood and began to fall foreword. Kongou hammered him into the roof, and Sasaku fell back down, leaving a crater where he landed. He lay there unmoving.

Karei was in bad shape. Karenbana repeatedly was slashing her all over. Karei had no idea where she even was in the swirl of petals. Karenbana landed a punch across Kareis face, sending her sprawling on the ground. She tried to get back up, but a large slash appeared in her arm. A few more cuts, and Karei was knocked to the ground. Karenbana smiled and stood over her.

Ishimaru turned his back and began walking away. The eye on the back of Ishidate's hand opened. Ishidate rose, and launched a barrage of stones at Ishimaru. Ishimaru whipped around and was caught in the stomach by the rock. He doubled over, and put a wall of earth around him. Ishidate held a hand up and tried to lower the wall, but Ishimaru's abilities were stronger than his. This got Ishidate really pissed off.

He let out a scream of rage, and lifted a huge boulder into the air. He used it to try to crush Ishimarus shield, but only slowly chunked it. Ishimaru hardened the wall with his chakra, and closed his eyes. He sat down and rested for a minute. The he burst open his eyes and the wall launched outward. Then the boulder melted into mud. Ishidate looked at Ishimaru in shock.

Ishimaru came in at Ishidate full speed and punched him. Ishidate punched Ishimaru back and the two began trading blows. They went endlessly, and Ishidate finally encased his fist in rock and punched Ishimaru with it at full force. Ishimaru went sprawling halfway across the bridge connecting the two towers. Ishidate waved his hands, and a large rock lifted, spread into soft earth, then drove into Ishimaru from every direction. Ishimaru stopped moving entirely.

Kongou began to walk away from Sasaku. Sasaku grabbed Kongous ankle with a weak grip. Kongou turned to him with a look of shock on his face. Sasaku stood and sheathed the swords.

Karenbana watched as Karei struggled to stand. She had blood dripping off of her entire body, and it seemed as if she should have been out cold. "But, why...?" Karenbana said.

Ishimaru's finger twitched. He shuffled, and pushed himself up with his arms. He staggered up. Ishidate looked at him, unknowing of what to say.

"I made..." Sasaku growled, black chakra leaking from the blades.

"Because..." Karei said, struggling to stand, "I made..."

"I made a promise!" Ishimaru said, not looking up.

"TO A FRIEND!" the three of them exclaimed.

Sasaku burst up and ran at Kongou. He knocked Kongou back into a pillar, then hit him through it. Then he kicked Kongou into the air. He jumped after him and did a front flip, ending with a dropping axe kick to Kongous face. Kongou slammed into the ground. "Shuriken Barrage!!" Sasaku yelled, heaving a load of shuriken at Kongou and using the shuriken shadow clone jutsu. Each star stuck into Kongou, leaving him a bloody mess. Sasaku landed, then stood up. "Don't mess with the best!" he said, with a grin.

Karenbana laughed and began circling Karei again with the flower petals. Karei lashed her arm out and made a puddle of her own blood on the floor. She closed her eyes and just listened. A small _plit_ sounded when Karenbana stepped in the blood. She waited for it again. _Plit_. Karei leapt foreword and rammed into Karenbana with her fist. Karenbana was thrown back into a wall. Karei stood panting, and the wig rolled off of Karenbana.

Ishimaru made multiple hand signs. Ishidate became confused. _Boar, snake, rabbit, bird, rat, snake, dog, tiger, dragon, horse, dog, ram._ "Wood Style:" Ishimaru yelled, "Gyakujou Hayashi!" Ishidate starred at Ishimaru in shock. "Wood Style?!?" he yelled. Ishimaru glared at him, and a giant root sprouted from the ground. It thrashed violently, and attacked Ishidate. He dodged it, and tried to block with rocks. The wood easily smashed through the rocks, and slammed Ishidate into the ground in front of Ishimaru.

Ishimaru made a few more signs and another root came out, a thinner one. It strapped Ishidate to the ground. Ishimaru waved his hands and a large amount of rock formed into multiple spears, all pointing towards Ishidate. The eye on the back of his hand opened. He grabbed the root and it turned to stone. It shattered, and Ishidate jumped foreword and grabbed Ishimarus ankle.

Ishimaru screamed as his leg turned to stone. It crept up and got to his waist. Then another large root shot straight up out of the ground, knocking Ishimaru to one side of the bridge, and Ishidate to the other. Ishimaru grabbed his waist and began healing the petrifaction. It stopped midway down his thigh, leaving the rest of his leg still petrified. He swore loudly.

The wig fell off of Ishidate's head. Shabadaba came up next to him. "Now!" Shabadaba yelled, "Finish the job! Go get Michiru!" Ishidate growled and began walking towards Ishimaru. Ishimaru's hand glowed brown as he limped towards Ishidate. Michiru looked over to him and saw him struggling. Shabadaba began yelling at Ishidate, telling him to get Michiru. Ishidate finally whipped around and before he realized it, he'd petrified Shabadaba.

Ishidate looked back and saw Ishimaru sitting on Michirus shoulders, Michiru running towards him. "Tsk." Ishidate held up his hand and launched sharp rocks at them. They stuck into Michirus leg and stomach, staining his clothes with blood. "It hurts!" he said through clenched teeth. He began to fall backwards. Hikaru got behind him and began pushing. "Come on father!" he yelled, "Don't give up!" Michiru clenched his eyes, then let out a yell and began running towards Ishidate.

The crescent moon shone upon them as they closed in on Ishidate. Ishimaru thrust his hand towards him, and Ishidate's hand caught his. There was a pause for a moment, and then a stone petrifaction began creeping down Ishidate's arm. Ishidate looked in surprise and was completely petrified. Ishimaru jumped off Michiru and healed his leg. He then made the sign of the snake.

"Stay where you belong." Ishiamru said, "In my memories."* Ishidate slowly turned into small grains of dust that blew off in the wind.

_To be continued..._

***I'm sorry, but I fetching love that line! Someone might be able to say that I'm stealing it, but I'm not, just using it without permission.**

**...**

**It's a fanfic! I don't need permission unless it's official! Read and review!**


	66. What's He Up To?

Tsunade sat in her office, with her feet up on the desk. There were piles of papers on her desk she needed to go through, but her mind was on something else. There was a knock on her door. "Enter!" she barked. Kakashi and Gai stepped through the door. "You asked to see us?" Kakashi said. Tsunade nodded. "I need the two of you to go to the Hidden Sound Village real quick." she said, "It's been over two months since I last made contact with Suzaku. I need you to check on the progress of the village."

"What could be taking the village so long to recover?" Gai asked. Tsunade shrugged. "I don't care about the village," she said, "I only need to know what is going on with Suzaku!" Kakashi shot her a look. "But Tsunade-sama," he said, "You just said-"

"I only need to know how Suzaku is doing!!" Tsunade yelled, "That's what I said!" Kakashi's eye twitched. "We'll leave immediately." he said. He and Gai left the room. Tsunade groaned and massaged her temples. _'Why in the world is Suzaku taking so long?'_ she thought, _'When he left he even had me prepare a room for him at the mansion for when he returns. But to have him gone another year... Our ranks need a ninja like Suzaku!'_

*************************

Suzaku yawned and checked his clock. It was morning now. He'd stayed up all night working on decoding the notes. Last night he'd found a scroll that didn't need decoding, only practice. It was a genjutsu that allowed the user to wipe the mind of any person that it is preformed on. He knew he was going to have to try that later. Also, he'd discovered how to place three different curse marks. Those three scrolls would help him a lot in the future.

He looked over the mind wiping jutsu again. He stepped outside the underground room for a minute, trying to get in some fresh air. His skin was a pale pink now, and there were light grey streaks going through his hair. He saw some random person from the Sound Village walking through the forest. "Hey, you!" he called to the man. The man walked over.

"You are the one that killed Orochimaru, are you not?" the man asked. Suzaku nodded. "Yes, it was." he lied.

"What do you want?" the man asked, "I'll be willing to do anything for the savior of the village!" Suzaku liked the sound of this. He motioned for the man to follow him down into the lab. The man nodded and followed. Suzaku shut the trapdoor, and looked at the man. He pulled out a piece of cloth. "Cover you eyes with this." he said. The man nodded and tied the cloth over his eyes.

Suzaku took the scroll and began weaving the signs on the scroll. There were a total of seventy-nine signs in all. When Suzaku finished, he put a hand on the man's forehead. The man screamed in pain. He dropped to his knees and clutched his forehead. He fell to the ground and lay squirming for a minute, then stopped moving. There was smoke coming off of his forehead. The smoke cleared after a minute, and the man rose.

"Can you tell me who you are?" Suzkau asked. The man dropped to one knee. "I am your humble servant!" he said, "Suzaku-sama!" Suzaku grinned and stroked his somewhat growing goatee. As Suzaku read a little further down the scroll, he saw that the jutsu would kill the user if used more than once per day. He grinned, and told the man to go outside and inform him if anyone was coming. He was expecting Tsunade to send him a letter or something any day now.

He picked up a piece of paper he'd never touched and began decoding it. His eyes widened, as he got further down. It was Orochimarus body transfer technique. Suzaku ran a hand through his hair. This was what he'd been looking for the whole time. But, whom would he use the body on? There were none that were as perfect as his. Or so he thought. His mind began to travel to some of the ones in the village.

_'Sasuke isn't strong enough for me to take his body,'_ he thought, _'and the Sharingan wouldn't be that big a deal for me. My little brother can use the Kyubi, so he might be an idea. But then I would have to learn to use the fox's chakra. Jaraiya is to old, and I don't think my father's corpse would cut it. Ishimaru's body is nowhere near as strong as I would like it, and that Sasaku kid... that Sasaku kid... hmm...'_

The man walked into the room. "Suzaku-sama," he said, "Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai from the Leaf Village wish an audience with you." Suzaku nodded. He made a hand sign and a genjutsu hid the desk covered in papers. All that was left in the room was a sofa, a few chairs, and a coffee table. Suzaku had completely redone the place to make it more homely. He planned on making it like a permanent home in a couple of days, hooking up a water line and getting a fridge and something to cook with installed.

The man walked back down with Kakashi and Gai. Suzaku looked at them with lazy eyes. "What is this, crazy hair day?" he asked. Neither of them seemed to take heed. "Tsunade wishes for you to return to the village." Kakashi said, "She says that the Sound Village's government can rearrange itself." Suzaku shook his head. "It's in bad shape." he said, "And besides, once I start something, I have to finish it."

Gai was about to say something, but Kakashi stopped him. "If that's what you want, we'll be out of your hair." he said. Gai looked at Kakashi questioningly, and Kakashi left. Gai sighed and followed him. Kakashi made a shadow clone and hid from Gai. Gai and the clone took off, and Kakashi lifted his headband, revealing the Sharingan eye. He looked past the wall into the room he and Gai were just in.

There was a table Kakashi had apparently not noticed before. Suzaku held three scrolls open in front of him. They were scrolls on performing curse marks. Kakashi wondered what Suzaku was doing with them. Suzaku made a hand sign, and the scrolls spun shut and were sealed. Kakashi assumed he was preventing them from being used again. Then Suzaku lay down on the sofa and fell asleep. Kakashi waited a few minutes before turning off the Sharingan and leaving.

_To be continued..._

**Suzaku is back in the picture! It's about freakin' time too. I was beginning to wonder when I'd be able to write a few chapters about him. Well, R&R!**


	67. Older Brothers Suck Sometimes

Sasaku walked into his apartment and shut the door. He sat down his swords in the case and fell onto the couch. He pulled off his headband, and removed his jacket before getting up again and getting something to eat. He had just gotten home from the Land of the Moon, and was dead tired. He grabbed the goggles around his neck and took them off as well as he chugged a two-liter bottle of soda.

He screwed the lid back on and walked into his room. Then he sat on the bed, sighed, and fell on his back. He closed his eyes for just a moment before he heard a noise. Yet, he pretended not to hear anything. Sasaku felt a presence walk over and hover over him. He cracked his right eye open, and saw the fuzzy outline of someone with a knife. He burst up and hammered the person in the neck with his arm.

The person was thrown back into the wall. He had short brown hair and wore a red shirt and blue shorts. A tanto was on the ground next to him. He looked up at Sasaku, and grabbed the tanto again before charging. Sasaku habitually went for his swords and ended up being stabbed in the left shoulder. Sasaku growled and punched the boy in the ribs, feeling one of them crack.

The boy stumbled back and held his stomach. Sasaku ran out and grabbed the swords, then ran back in. The boy looked up, then jumped through the closed window, shattering it. Sasaku followed him, but when he got to the ground, there was only glass and a drop of blood. Sasaku sheathed the swords and jumped back into his apartment. He swore. He'd just gotten that window replaced. He sighed and walked through his apartment and back out the front.

Locking the door, Sasaku walked away and began to stroll through town. He was going to go pick up some groceries, maybe say hi to Ino, and sleep for the next few days. He got to the store and began looking around for the stuff he needed. Suddenly, he saw Ichigo walking through the store. Ichigo smiled and waved. Sasaku nervously waved back. Ichigo walked over. "What up bro?"

"Not much Niisan."

"I ran into Ino two days ago. She told me you were going out."

"Oh, that's cool. Hey, you're not still mad about the motorcycle thing, right?"

"Nope!"

"Good." Sasaku grinned at Ichigo. Ichigo smiled back. Sasaku smiled to Ichigo. Ichigo smiled back. Sasaku looked at Ichigo. Ichigo smiled back. Sasaku looked at Ichigo in horror. Ichigo started laughing. "Ichigo... you didn't..." Sasaku growled. Ichigo grinned evilly. "Oh," he said, "but I did." Sasaku turned red with embarrassment and anger at the same time. "That's harsh man!" he muttered, "Why'd you even bring that photo?!"

"Tell me something Sasaku," Ichigo said, "why wouldn't I?" Sasaku growled. "YOU B$!%&! I'LL KILL YOU!!!" he yelled. He tackled Ichigo to the ground...

*************************

Suzaku was sitting on his couch, watching as his three servants finished putting in the fridge. He had a stove and an oven next to it, and a sink on the other side. The coffee table was set between the sofa and two padded chairs, just a way from the sink. His fourth and final servant walked in. "Lord Suzaku," he said, "two rouge ninja's, one from Leaf and one from Mist, are at the door. They say they wish to see Orochimaru." Suzaku looked at him. Then he lazily waved his hand. "Let 'em in."

The man bowed and walked away. Suzaku stood up and told the three servants to leave the fridge where it was and go into the servant room. It was a small room through a door that was on the other side of the room. The servant from before walked back in with two men at his heels. They both wore black cloaks with red clouds. One had black hair, and the other had bluish skin that made him look like a shark.

"May I ask the names of my guests?" Suzaku asked. The man with black hair stepped foreword. "We wish to speak with Orochimaru of a pressing matter." Suzaku motioned towards the couch. "Please, sit and we will talk." The two men sat in the sofa and Suzaku took a chair. The man with the blue hair and skin was about to speak, but Suzaku's servant came over with three glasses and poured wine into each of them. Suzkau picked up one and began to sip it.

"So," Suzaku said, "what do you two wish with Orochimaru?" The man with black hair picked up the glass. "Our leader has sent us with the wish that Orochimaru rejoin the organization." he said, "But we can plainly see that Orochimaru is on leave right now." Suzaku laughed. "That moron is dead!" he said. The two men looked at Suzaku in shock. "Then," the shark man said, "who killed him?" Suzaku stuck a thumb to his chest.

"Hmm," he black haired man said, "may I ask the name of the one who killed Orochimaru?"

"Namikaze Suzaku!" Suzaku replied. The man looked at Suzaku in wonder. He muttered something quietly to the other man, and the man nodded. "I am Uchiha Itachi." the black-haired man said, "We came with the request that Orochimaru rejoin the Akatsuki, or bring back the ring he stole from us."

"Ah," Suzaku said, "so you are the Akatsuki. I've heard of you. Now, you said you were an Uchiha. Are you in any way related to my student, Sasuke?" Itachi looked down. He sipped some of the wine. "If you killed Orohimaru," the other man said, "then you may be worthy to join the organization." Suzaku turned to the other man. "I'm sorry I never caught your name." he said.

"Hoshigaki Kisame." he said, "Now, do you wish to join?" Suzaku thought for a minute. "Nope!" he said, "However, if you were wise, you'd join me!" Itachi and Kisame looked at Suzaku with a strange look. "What is your goal?" Itachi said, "And why should we join you?" Suzaku snorted. "You should join me because I'll crush all who oppose!" he said, "As for my goal..." he began laughing like a madman.

"I'll become the ultimate ruler of the Five Great Shinobi Nations!"

_To be continued..._

**WOO HOO! GO SUZKAU! R&R!**


	68. Mangekyo's Weakness

"To... rule the Five Great Shinobi Nations?" Kisame asked. Suzaku nodded. Itachi raised an eyebrow. "If you are the son of the Fourth Hokage," he said, "how is it your goal is such a task?" Suzaku laughed. "At first, I simply wanted to kill Orochimaru." he said, "That dream turned into becoming Otokage. But on my last mission, I realized I could do more. By studying Orochimaru's notes, I could gain enough power to rule the world!"

Kisame stood up. He drew his blade, which was wrapped tight in bandages. It was huge, and looked very heavy. Suzaku eyed the blade. "You are one of the seven swordsmen of the mist, are you not?" he asked. Kisame didn't answer, and glared at Suzaku with his beady eyes. "This boy could possibly get in the way of our plans." Kisame said, "For the sake of the Akatsuki, he must be eliminated!" Suzaku laughed.

"You do not want to do that..." Suzaku said. Itachi stayed sitting and sipped his glass of wine. Kisame swung the sword at Suzaku. Suddenly, Suzaku stood ten feet behind Kisame, the sword over his shoulder. Kisame turned around in shock. "But how-?!"

"It's a technique that belonged to the fourth Hokage." Itachi said, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but, is it not the Flying-"

"-Wind God." Suzaku interrupted, "I took my fathers move and molded it for my own chakra." He tossed Kisame the sword, and Kisame caught it and was knocked over. Itachi stood up and dropped the glass of wine. It shattered on the floor. Itachi and Suzaku stared at each other for a long time. The tension was increasing, and a fight was going to break out soon. Kisame stood up. "Itachi," Kisame said, "if this doesn't go well-"

"I will be the one fighting." Itachi said, "I want to test his skills." Suzaku grinned. Itachi turned on his Sharingan, and Suzaku was suddenly behind him. A small cut appeared on Itachi's face. Itachi looked back in shock. _'For him to move at that speed,'_ Itachi thought, _'and not be caught by my Sharingan... how is it possible to maneuver in a way my Mangekyo cannot see?'_

Suzaku disappeared, and multiple rushes of wind shot through the room. Itachi was punched across the face. He stumbled, and another punch knocked him back. He was hit over and over, until one took him to the ground. Suzaku stood over Itachi with his arms crossed. Itachi struggled to get himself up. He looked up and tried to capture Suzaku with the Mangekyo. But Suzaku was gone in an instant, and Itachi was kicked in the side. He was on the ground then.

Itachi stood up and put on the regular Sharingan. He looked at Suzaku, and made a raging Chidori form in his hand. Suzaku grinned, and a Burning Rasengan formed in his. Itachi eyed this carefully, and his Chidori slowly died, as he did nothing. Suzaku grinned and extinguished the Burning Rasengan. Itachi frowned. "It's a shame that you refuse to join us," he said, "you could be a valuable asset to the Akatsuki." He turned and began to leave.

Kisame looked at Suzaku, and left after Itachi. Suzaku picked up Kisame's untouched wine glass and chugged it. He let out a loud belch and went over to the table to start decoding again.

*************************

Sasaku sat the groceries down on his counter. He groaned and looked at the clock. It was almost midnight. _'That was one heck of a hello...'_ he said, thinking of how excited Ino was when she saw he was back. He lay down in his bed and fell asleep. After what felt like almost no time at all, Sasaku's eyes fluttered open, and the sun shined in them. He threw the blanket over his head and tried to go back to sleep. He realized it was Sunday and then sighed and threw his legs over the side of the bed.

He got up and got ready before walking out the door and going through town. Sasaku had some plans he'd try to carry through with today. He and Ino were to meet in the park for lunch, and he wanted to have a big surprise ready for her. He walked through town to this one jewelry store. He walked in and looked around. He swore when he saw Ino standing in there, just browsing. He dove behind a counter and didn't move.

Then Sasaku got an idea. He turned on the Byakugan and watched as Ino looked over some of the things. She stopped and stared at one necklace for a minute. Then she sighed and walked out of the store. Sasaku stood and walked over to the necklace. It was a necklace connected by small links and had a bright blue gem on the front. Sasaku looked at the price and was shocked. He walked away from it, then back to it.

Over and over, he looked from it, to the price, to the door. Finally, he sighed and purchased the necklace. He stuffed it in a bag in his back pocket and walked out. He went to meet Ino at the park. Once he got there, he saw her sitting next to a tree. He walked over and sat next to her. "Hi!" she said, "Glad you came! I thought you'd be to tired from the mission."

_'Don't remind me...'_ Sasaku smiled at her. "It wasn't that bad," he said, "the mission was a breeze!" He grinned and Ino laughed. "Yeah, whatever," she said. She pulled out a picnic basket and the two began eating. When they finished, Sasaku was planning on giving the necklace to Ino. He was about to say something when a ball hit him in the head. "Nice going Daisuke!" a boy yelled, "Now go get the ball!"

Sasaku turned around and saw a boy running towards them. His eyes widened. It was the same boy from yesterday, the one who'd broken into his house. He stood up and glared at the boy. Daisuke seemed to recognize him as well. He grinned and motioned for the group of boys he was with to head over. "This is the guy!" he yelled.

The group walked over to Daisuke and got in a line facing Sasaku. "So," Daisuke said, "you come to fork over the swords?" Sasaku undid the swords from around his waist and set them on the ground next to him and smiled. "Make it past me," Sasaku said, "and you can have the forsaken blades." Ino looked up to him in worry, and the boys all grinned. Daisuke drew his tanto, and the boys slowly closed in on Sasaku.

_To be continued..._


	69. Failed Capture

"Sasaku," Ino said, "are you sure about this?" Sasaku smiled and nodded. Daisuke and the group of boys began to tense up. Then they all rushed in at once. Sasaku swung one of them into another, and jumped over Daisuke's tanto. He kicked another boy. Then he stepped on a boy's hand that was reaching for the swords. Sasaku kicked up some dirt and got it in two of the boys' eyes. The two fell back, and one took down another.

The one that was taken down shoved the boy off him, pushing him into Daisuke. Daisuke growled and punched both of the boys. Pretty quickly, the entire group was in a fight with themselves. Sasaku blinked, then picked up the swords and began walking away. Ino stood up and followed him. They just walked over to a different part of the park and sat down under a tree.

Sasaku suddenly remembered something. "Oh, Ino!" he said, reaching into his back pocket, "I've got somethin' for-" He felt his back pocket. The necklace was broken. _'It must've happened during the fight...'_ he thought. Without a word, Sasaku sat down the swords, stood up, and walked back in the direction of the boys. Ino just sighed and stayed where she was. She heard a ton of boys shouting, then saw a ton of dust get kicked out in front of her.

A couple more screams, more dust, and Daisuke flew through the top of the tree into another. Sasaku sat down next to Ino and sulked. "What's up?" Ino asked. Sasaku was about to talk, but stopped himself and shook his head. "Don't worry about it." he said with a smile. Ino smiled at him, and he felt the broken necklace in his back pocket. That was gonna be a major wallet drainer just to get fixed, but he was going to do it anyways.

The two of them sat talking for a while longer before they finally said goodbye and left. Sasaku walked down the street back to the jewelry store. He paid for the necklace to be repaired and then went for his apartment. Once he got home, he plugged in some music and drifted into a light nap.

*************************

_One day earlier..._

Suzaku knocked on the door to the Otokage's office. "Come in." said a voice from behind it. Suzaku pulled the handle and walked in. Behind the desk in the room was a man with short blonde hair. He was writing something. "Ah," he said, "Suzaku-kun, what a surprise. Is there anything you need?" Suzaku smiled and nodded. He began weaving the shortened forty-eight hand signs required for the mind wipe. He hit the Otokage in the head with his palm. The Otokage fell back into the wall behind him.

A black seal appeared on the Otokages forehead, and faded while smoking. The Otokage rose form the ground. "Suzaku-sama!" he said, kneeling, "What do you want?" Suzaku grinned. "What I want," he said, "I to rebuild the world, to one of my own liking. I want to have them all know that I am the most powerful being in the world! And my plan begins here, in Oto." The Otokage raised his head to look at Suzaku. "Enlighten me," he said, "how may I be of any assistance?"

"First thing's first," Suzaku said, pacing back and fourth, "I want you to make sure that you remain allies with Konoha. If anything is to go wrong between them and you, Tsunade-baka will have me removed from here immediately. I also want you to begin strengthening your military secretly. I will take a selection of twenty soldiers for myself to use for my own personal experiments. Now, I would also like to make sure that no information of what is going on here reaches any wrong ears, so I'll take the liberty of telling you of some select Shinobi to keep tabs on the entire village.

"Once the security is tightened, no one may enter or leave without being carefully examined. I trust you can come up with a good excuse for that one. Something like not wanting another Orochimaru incident. Moving on, in a little over a year, I will return to Konoha. I want you to remain in constant contact with me then. Oh, and if you are ever removed from the title of Otokage, I'll kill you. And if you're already dead, I'll bring you back to life and kill you again! Comprende?"

The Otokage nodded. "Is there anything else sir?" Suzaku thought for a minute. An evil grin crossed his face. "I need the captive." he said.

*************************

_Current day..._

Sasaku locked his door and began walking away. He was off to grab some dinner. He saw Sasuke walking from the other way. "Hey, what's up?" Sasaku said. Sasuke looked over to him. He waved, and Sasaku ran over. "What're you up to?" he asked. Sasuke shrugged. "Nothin to do, so I just came out for a stroll." Sasaku nodded, and an Anbu walked up behind him. Sasaku turned around to face him.

"Enkou Sasaku?" the Anbu asked. Sasaku nodded. "Sasaku," he said, "I'm going to ask you to come with me." He said. Sasaku eyed him cautiously. The Anbu let out a light laugh. "You're not in trouble, we've just got a couple of questions for you." Sasaku sighed and followed the Anbu. He led him to the jail. The Anbu brought him inside and into a room near the entrance. He flipped on a light and there was a man with white hair and round glasses sitting in a chair with his hands tied in front of him. He looked slightly familiar.

"Sasaku, this man Kabuto here says he's been hired to capture you and bring you back to his master. We caught him this morning when he was about to break into your house. Have you any idea who he is or why?" Sasaku shook his head. The Anbu scribbled something on a notepad. "And you are sure you have no idea who his master is?" Sasaku shook his head again. "I think I recognize him as the one serving Orochimaru, but I saw with my own eyes Orochimaru was killed. I don't know who his master would be..." The Anbu scribbled down some more things, and then nodded to Sasaku. "You may go." he said.

Sasaku left, and Kabuto looked up at the Anbu. "My master," Kabuto said, "I'll tell you who he is..." The Anbu looked over to Kabuto. He was about to speak when a smoke bomb filled the room. The Anbu coughed and quickly got rid of the smoke. On the ground where the chair was, there was a bloody smear with a pair of broken glasses. Another Anbu ran into the room. "What happened?!" he yelled. The first Anbu looked at the smear. "Let Lady Hokage know about this." he said, "And tell her there may be a small possibility of Orochimaru being alive..."

_To be continued..._


	70. Finally Said

Suzaku sat in his room laughing like a madman. Itachi sat in front of him, on the couch. "And they still think Orochimaru is alive!" Suzaku laughed. Itachi cracked a light smile. "They still do not suspect that you are pulling the strings of the Oto government?" he said. Suzaku shrugged. "I don't care whether they know or not," he said, "I'm only worried Tsunade's gonna find out what we're up to!"

"What you're up to," Itachi said, "I only said I might consider joining you." There was a noise outside of the door. Suzaku looked to Itachi, then groaned and got up. He walked out the door and saw a man riding a donkey by his door. "Do you mind?" he said. The man looked over to Suzaku. "My apologies," he said, "I didn't think I would disturb anyone while riding my donkey."

"Why in the world are you even riding a donkey?!" Suzaku asked.

"Why in the world do you live in under the ruins of Orochimaru's home?" the man yelled.

"I'd tell you, but I'd have to kill you..." Suzaku laughed. The man groaned. "You faggot..." he muttered. Suzaku shrugged. The man's eye twitched. "You are one of those sicko's that lives on the outskirts of a village because everyone in the village doesn't want them around, aren't you?"

"Watch it..." Suzaku said. Itachi stepped out. "I should be off." he said. The man snorted. "What, had enough of your 'partner' here?!" The donkey began braying and Itachi's eye twitched. "Kiss your ass* goodbye!!!" he yelled.

*************************

Sasaku stepped out of the academy and ran to the jewelry store. He picked up the necklace and sighed as he walked back out. He swore and grumbled about the price. Then he went home. He stayed in his room reading until it began to get dark. Then he had dinner. Once he was done, he grabbed his guitar and walked out the door.

Ino lay down in her bed trying to go to sleep. She heard a knocking on her window. She got up, walked over, and opened it. When she stuck her head out, she couldn't see anything. The she heard a guitar strumming above her. She looked up to the roof just above her room, and saw Sasaku playing the guitar, looking straight out.

"Let me be your hero."

Ino smiled and rested her chin on her hands as she stared up at him.

"Would you dance  
If I asked you to dance?  
Would you run  
And never look back?  
Would you cry  
If you saw me cryin'  
And would you save my soul tonight?

Would you tremble  
If I touched your lips?  
Would you laugh?  
Oh please tell me this.  
Now would you die  
For the one you love?  
Hold me in your arms tonight.

I can be your hero, baby.  
I can kiss away the pain.  
I will stand by you forever.  
You can take my breath away."

Sasaku was about to start the next verse, but his finger slipped and he dropped the pick, into the guitar. He swore and flipped the guitar upside down to get the pick back. But, as he shifted his weight, he slipped. Off the roof. Into the ground. Face first. In a rose bush. "Are you alright?!?" Ino yelled down to him. He stuck a bloody hand up through the bush and gave a thumbs up. Ino closed the window and ran away from it.

Sasaku flopped out of the bushes onto the ground. He swore and sat the guitar next to him. Then he tried to wipe off most of the cuts before Ino came out of the front door. He stood up and leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, trying to look as cool as possible. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked. Sasaku laughed.

"I was okay after that fight with Sarin!" he said, "I think I'm okay now." She hugged him and he let out a small "ow!". She laughed and he turned her away from him. "What're you doing?" Ino asked. Sasaku smiled and took out the necklace. He put it around her neck and finished putting it on in the back. She gasped and felt it on her chest. She whipped around and embraced Sasaku in a tight hug.

"I love you Sasaku..." she whispered. Ino pulled away and blushed, and Sasaku stared at her in awe. "I..." His face turned red, and he leaned in closer to her. She leaned towards him too. "I... I love you too Ino." he said. They kissed, and stayed there for as long as time would allow them as the moon shone down on them.

_The end.**_

***The donkey! Jeez, what did you think I meant?! And I know Itachi was OOC, but come on, there has to be some comic relief with the Akatsuki other than Tobi and Deidara.**

****Don't worry, it's not the total end of the series. There will still be more, and it will still be on this same story, but I'm not going to update again for a couple months. To be precise, I will stop writing altogether at the start of summer break and will start it up again about seven to eight weeks in. Once it starts back up, it will be over a year after the moment you just read. Things will be a lot different, trust me. **

**Everyone will have advanced to Shippuden, and that also comes with the advancements. For the sake of argument, Sasuke is Jounin, Naruto is Chunin, and everyone else makes the normal advancements, I apologize if anyone doesn't like the idea. For the time being though, I might doing a subplot of this story that will be a crossover. You can check it out if you want, but it doesn't matter. Well, R&R.**

**Song: Hero  
Artist: Enrique Iglesias  
URL:** **www . clipov . net / mp3 / enrique_iglesias+%5bhero%5d+2002+4-22+vh1+clear . mp3 (Take out the spaces)**


	71. Back in Action

**I'm back everyone! That's right, I am finally able to start the story again! Well, I wonder if the wait was worth it. Like I said before, all Shippuden rank advancements, and everything. As I said before, Sasuke is Jounin, Naruto Chunnin, and everyone else the normal advancements. I wont have time to explain my OC's new appearances now, so if you want to see them it's on my profile. Anyways, on with the show! R&R!**

A strong gust burst through the forest. Sasaku jumped alongside it, through the trees. He spotted Naruto standing in front of a scroll and frowned. "Target acquired," Sasaku said in the headset he was wearing, "But somethings not right. Only Naruto is standing guard. Kai, you stay on defense. Karei, you come give me backup."

"Roger," Ishimaru said.

"Understood," said Karei, "What is your location?"

"I don't know!" Sasaku replied, "You're the tracker, just find me!" There was silence for a second.

"You're such an idiot Sasaku," Karei muttered, and then she cut off the connection. Sasaku watched as Naruto stood guard over the scroll. Karei landed in the tree next to him. He nodded to her, then pointed his chin at Naruto. Karei drew some shuriken, and Sasaku his swords. Then he jumped out and swung at Nauto, who ducked and blocked the shuriken with a kunai. Then he jumped away from Sasaku, and Sasuke tackled him.

The swords went flying and stuck into a tree nearby. Sasaku punched Sasuke, but Sasuke caught his fist. Then he pulled Sasaku foreword and hit him in the stomach with an uppercut. As Sasaku stumbled back, he thought, _Whoa, deja vu!_ He shook it off and jumped into the air. He kicked at Sasuke. He was evaded, but then Sasaku did a handspring and kicked Sasuke in the back.

Karei and Naruto were fighting as well. Naruto had made four clones, and Karei was gracefully fighting each of them. Then she knocked Naruto backwards into a tree. "Face it kid, you can't win!" Karei said. Naruto stood and shook himself.

"You don't even know," Naruto said, "How many times I've heard that line!" He came in as if to punch Karei, but moved at the last second and swept her legs out from under her. She flipped back and kicked Naruto in the chin. Then she landed in a tree branch and fired a barrage of kunai at him. He ducked under them and jumped up at her.

Ishimaru stood pacing at the base of a tree. He suddenly went to the ground and pressed his ear to it. Footsteps were coming towards him, from the northeast. The steps were light, with chakra focused perfectly into the legs. Judging by the speed of the steps and the distance apart they were, he concluded it was Sakura. He stood and made the sign of the snake, then pressed his hands to the ground. Sakura jumped from behind a bush and came in to punch Ishimaru.

A wall of stone shot up between them, and Sakura hardly put a scratch in the wall. Ishimaru moved his hands foreword, and the wall of stone shot towards Sakura. She jumped back and kicked the stone, causing the wall to shatter and fall beside her. A spear of stone suddenly launched itself at her, and she twirled into the air to avoid it. Another slab knocked her out of the air into the trunk of a nearby tree. She fell foreword, and Ishimaru grinned.

He placed his palms on the ground, and dirt encased itself around Sakura. She escaped with a quick burst of strength and leaping into the sky. "Wood Style:" Ishimaru yelled, "Gyakujou Hayashi!" A nearby tree swayed, and then a branch lashed out and bound Sakura. She cut through it with a kunai, and then avoided more and more of them. The moment she made it to the ground, shards of rock began shooting themselves at her.

Sasaku dodged a punch from Sasuke and jumped back. He pulled his swords out of the tree barely in time to block Sasuke's kunai. Then he kicked at Sasuke, who jumped over it. The two of them both turned on their Sharingan. Then they of them began weaving hand sign after hand sign. "Fire Style:" they yelled, "Blaze of Glory!"

From their mouths shot two monstrous flames. The flames crashed into each other, charing everything nearby. Then the torrent ended, and Sasaku and Sasuke stood panting. "Just give it up!" Sasaku yelled, "What you're doing is pointless! You can't beat us!"

"Even if it is pointless," Sasuke replied, "How can I call myself a ninja if I give up and run?!" Sasaku jumped into the air, then dove towards the ground.

"Shadow Style:" he yelled, "Hidden Pursuit Jutsu!" He hit the ground and vanished in the shadows. Sasuke looked around with the Sharingan to see if he could spot Sasaku, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find him. Then he turned to the scroll. Sasaku jumped up from under it and grabbed it. "Karei, I got it!" he said, "Lets go!"

Karei turned to Sasaku in surprise, then punched Naruto away and left after him. Naruto fell back, and Sasuke caught him to stop his fall. "Come on useless," he said, "Get moving." Naruto growled at Sasuke, then began running after them.

"Kai," Sasaku said to Ishimaru over the headset, "We got the scroll! How are things on your end?"

There was silence, then some panting and the sound of Sakura attacking something. "Not... good..." Ishimaru panted, "Sakura... lots of energy..."

"Got it," Sasaku said, "We'll be right there!" He hurried his pace, then came into the clearing where Sakura was battling with a barrage of stones and roots. Ishimaru was about twenty feet away, continuously moving his arms and muttering something under his breath. Karei jumped at Sakura and began swiping at her. Sakura began going back at her, but Karei swiftly dodged every attack. Then she barred Sakura in the stomach with her arm, and knocked her out with a blow to the head.

Sasaku ran up to the panting Ishimaru, and handed him the scroll he had snagged. A branch came down from the tree Ishimaru was at the base of, and gave him a second scroll. He held the two scrolls out and they unrolled in front of him. Naruto and Sasuke appeared in the clearing, and Sakura woke up. "Too late!" Sasaku said, as Ishimaru crossed the scrolls. There was a burst of smoke...

_To be continued..._


	72. Flying Solo

There was a cloud of smoke that appeared over the crossed scrolls. Kakashi and Raiden appeared, Kakashi with a stopwatch in hand. "Time," he said, pushing the button. "Thirteen minutes, twenty-two seconds." Sasaku let out an exclamation and punched the air, while Ishimaru let out a sigh of relief. Naruto growled in frustration.

"Since when is capture the flag ninja training anyways?!" he yelled. Sasuke hit him in the back of the head, then walked foreword to Sasaku.

"Congratulations," he said, "You've gotten better."

"You too man," Sasaku said, "You actually had me worried for a minute."

"I wouldn't if I were you. That chakra within the blades has become your greatest asset." Sasaku shrugged and nodded. He felt the swords at his waist. Since he got them, his chakra had been melding with the Kumori Tora's, giving him new strength.

"Enough idle chitchat," Raiden said, "Sasaku, Lady Hokage wanted to see you. Alone." Sasaku nodded, then jumped through the forest towards the village. He made it to the Hokage mansion as fast as he could, then went through the hall and knocked on the door to Tsunade's office. She called for him to come in. He walked inside, and she looked up at him.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked. Tsunade nodded.

"I have a very important mission for you," she said, "You just recently acquired the rank of Jounin, as you well know, so I'm placing you on your first A-ranked solo mission."

"You're not giving me a squad?"

"No. This mission will not need force, but stealth, and some detective work. There is a group of mercenaries two kilometers east southeast of the Hidden Cloud Village."

"Spare me the details," Sasaku said. Tsunade nodded.

"Find them, and attempt to capture them," she continued, "Use as much force as necessary, but try not to kill them all. Once you have them under control, I need you to find out who hired them. All we know is he has bad relations with Kumo, and wants some of their residents dead, including the Raikage, and someone known as Killer Bee. Once you discover who it is, give the remaining captives to Kumo, and then track down and eliminate the one who hired the mercenaries."

"Yes sir!" Sasaku said, with a salute, "I'll depart immediately!" Tsunade tossed a bag to Sasaku. He opened it and saw some strange colored pills. "What are these for?"

"I don't wish for you to bring your swords," Tsunade said, "As they may attract unwanted attention. Those supplements were specially made to distribute about an hours worth of the chakra that the Kumori Tora gives you. It will allow you to use some of your jutsu without the swords in your possession."

Sasaku reluctantly unbelted the swords from his waist and handed them to Tsunade. "Don't worry," she said, "We will protect these, no matter the cost!" Sasaku nodded and departed from the Hokage mansion. He walked to his own home, which was now a smallish one-story house on the west wall. He walked inside and down the hall to his room. Inside, he opened a chest, revealing the armor that he'd bought so long ago.

_I haven't worn these in months, _he thought, _And nothing has happened yet. Then again, I've never been on a mission alone. What if I accidentally got careless when someone should be watching my back? And besides, I won't have the swords with me..._ After a minute of thinking, he placed the armor back in the chest. He pulled the rest of his gear out and got himself ready for the upcoming mission.

Once he was done equipping himself, he put on a purple jacket over his yellow shirt, and strapped his shuriken holster onto his red pants before leaving. He walked through the village, and saw Ino sitting on a bench eating. She saw him and waved at him, and he went and sat down by her. "Hey, good to see you before I go," Sasaku said.

"You're going on a mission?" Ino asked, "But you just got back yesterday." Sasaku nodded.

"It's not easy being a Jounin," he said, "But I have to fulfill my duty to the Leaf Village."

"So who are you going with this time?"

"No one, it's a solo mission." Ino looked up at him with worried eyes. He smiled at her. "Don't worry, I'll be fine!" She hugged him tightly.

"Be safe," she said. Sasaku put his arm around her.

"I love you too," he said. Then he stood up, even as she tried to hold on to him. He dared not look back, for fear he might never see Ino again, and forced himself to move, one step at a time towards the village gate. He swallowed as he passed outside the gate, then vanished, dashing away.

*************************

Suzaku drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. A man brought him a glass, and he accepted it gratefully. He downed the liquid and scratched his head. He stared at the last sheet of paper that needed decoding. It made no sense to him. All he'd been able to derive from it was that it was a deadly powerful technique, he only couldn't figure out what it was. Nothing he tried seemed to be of any use.

"Suzaku," came a voice from behind him, "You've been working on that paper nonstop for weeks. I think that you should take a break to calm your nerves." Suzaku sighed and sat the paper on his desk.

"I'm so close to achieving ultimate strength," he said, "But I just can't decode it. This one last paper will make me stronger than Orochimaru ever dreamed of being!"

"Of course, but you're already the strongest being alive," said the man from before, "Why is this last one so important?"

"Because, Itachi," Suzaku said, "This was a technique not even Orochimaru dared to use! If I could unlock its secrets, no one would dare stand before me! No one like that blasted Cloud Ninja that escaped!"

"He didn't see enough to give anyone solid evidence as to your plans," Itachi replied, "Besides, Killer Bee holds the eight-tailed demon inside him. The Akatsuki will be after him before long, along with those mercenaries you hired. You've got nothing to worry about."

Suzaku ran a hand through his night black hair, then sighed. He closed his eyes, then said, "Our little friend is on his way to the Cloud Village now to take out the mercenaries," he said, "Be a good partner and make sure he doesn't die." Itachi nodded and took off.

_To be continued..._


	73. Enemy of the Akatsuki

Sasaku stood at the top of a tall peak. They were all over the place, allowing great cover for a large encampment. He could have easily already passed them. With a sigh, Sasaku slid down from the peak to the base. Without anyone else, not only would the mission be harder, but also he was bored out of his mind. _How am I supposed to find these guys anyways?_ he thought to himself.

Then he smacked his forehead for not realizing it sooner. He sat cross-legged and leaned his back against the wall of the mountain. Then he put one of the pills Tsunade had given him in his mouth. He did not want to try doing anything without the chakra, for he'd been using the Kumori Tora so much he hadn't the slightest idea how well his own chakra had developed.

"Byakugan!" he said, making a hand sign. Veins appeared around his eyes. He looked around, and saw that there was a large group of people camped out behind a small hill about 47 meters to his left. He turned off the Byakugan and ran towards the hill. He jumped over it, then hid behind a tent on the other side. There were about fifty or so people at this camp.

One walked back behind the camp, and Sasaku grabbed him, covered his mouth, and held a kunai to his throat. "I'll kill you right now if you don't cooperate," he said, "Now, who are you and why are you here?" He removed his hand from the man's mouth.

"Mercenaries," the man whispered in a gruff voice, "Hired to take out the Raikage and Killer Bee."

"Hired by who?" Sasaku asked. The man opened his mouth as if to say, but a barrage of kunai stuck themselves into him. The man shouted in pain before falling to the ground, dead. Sasaku looked around, and saw more of the mercenaries running towards him. He habitually went for his swords, then grumbled and clenched his fists.

Three men closed in on Sasaku from all sides. He turned on the Byakugan and began attacking the men with the gentle fist style. He sent one man flying back, and right before the other two jumped on him, he did a palm rotation, sending them flying. Another man came in from behind, and Sasaku grabbed a long straight stick and hit the man across the face with it.

The stick moved fast, and felt light and brittle in Sasaku's hand. He had become used to the weight of the swords that were constantly with him, and each move seemed to be a little faster and easier. After fending off two more men, the stick broke, and a kunoichi jumped at him with kunai in hand. He blocked them with the plates on the back of his gloves, and kicked her back.

After fighting off a few more of the mercenaries, Sasaku began to pant. He began to make mistakes that could be easily fixed by a teammate. Then a small man came in from behind and slashed a kunai across his back. Sasaku let out a shout of pain and fell foreword. The man was about to stab Sasaku, but he stopped, and fell down next to Sasaku as a bloody mess. Sasaku turned around, and saw a man with black hair standing fighting off more men.

"Thanks," Sasaku said, before jumping up and punching back three men that were coming from his side. The one helping Sasaku suddenly did a back flip into the air over Sasaku and began spinning around. Sasaku looked up, and a burst of flames shot out in every direction, burning down all the enemies. Sasaku stared in awe, then remembered.

"Wait!" Sasaku said, "Leave as many alive as possible!!" The man made no notion as if he'd heard. He continued, until the screams stopped, and it was definite that there were no survivors. The flaming torrent stopped, and the man landed a few feet from Sasaku with his back to him. "I told you not to kill them all!" Sasaku yelled.

The man turned to him, revealing his face. Sasaku stared at him, then clenched his fist. "Uchiha Itachi," Sasaku said, "Why did you help me?" Itachi remained silent for a minute, staring at Sasaku.

"Be more careful next time," Itachi said before vanishing into thin air. Sasaku clenched his fist and stared at the burnt battlefield. As he scanned it with the Byakugan, he saw absolutely no signs of life. Then he swore, and turned to leave. Mission was accomplished, but not completed. He'd have to notify the Kumo government about this immediately.

*************************

Itachi ran through a grassy field. There was a forest ahead, and within that forest Oto. He jumped into the cover of the trees and began going through them. As he jumped, he saw a shadow move nearby, then spun to the ground as a load of shuriken passed right through where he'd been. Then Itachi landed and sprung back up when more shuriken hit the ground.

A figure moved through the trees, and a kunai with a paper bomb attached to it came flying towards him. Itachi threw another kunai to deflect it, and the bomb blew up mid-air. Out of the large ball of fire and smoke came the attacker. It was a blonde boy, no older than sixteen. He wore a red ribbon around his head, and a red scarf that covered the lower part of his face. His shirt was purple, with a strange yellow marking on the front. His pants were also red, and were tucked into large brown boots.

The boy attacked Itachi with a large barrage of attacks, but Itachi dodged every one. Then the boy lashed out and struck Itachi across the face. Itachi stumbled back, surprised. The boy stared at him with deep grey eyes. Bloodlust radiated from them, as if every part of the boy's being wanted to kill Itachi. The boy spoke, cool and smooth. "Uchiha," he said, "Why is it you don't wear your cloak that signifies you as a member of the Akatsuki?"

Itachi did no longer wear the cloak. Instead, he had on a bright red kimono and baggy white pants. He wore his headband as a sash under the kimono. "What business do you have with them?" Itachi asked.

"That's none of your concern," came the boy's reply, "Now answer my question: Are you or are you not Uchiha Itachi of the Akatsuki?"

"I am," Itachi said, "Uchiha Itachi, with ties only to Namikaze Suzaku. I affiliate myself with no organization." The boy stared at Itachi for a while longer, then turned to go.

"Then I have no business with you," he said, "I wish to destroy the Akatsuki, and if what you say is true, then you are not one I wish to destroy." Then he turned back to Itachi and pointed a finger at him. "But if what you say is true, then why do you still wear the ring of the organization."

Itachi pulled the ring off his finger and held it out. "It is of value to the Akatsuki," he said, "As long as Suzaku has this under his control, he has a certain leverage over them." The boy clenched his hand into a fist and dropped his arm.

"Who is this Suzaku of which you speak?" the boy asked.

"Lord Suzaku is the most powerful being in the world," Itachi stated "And wishes to show it to everyone. All who oppose will be obliterated."

"And the Akatsuki?" the boy said. There was a pause for a minute.

"They are, no threat for the time. But they have already decided that Suzaku-sama may be a threat to their own plans, and they are planning to be rid of him. When that time comes, Suzaku will strike back with full force, and the Akatsuki will crumble."

The boy's eyes narrowed. "So this Suzaku would be better off without the Akatsuki meddling?" Itachi nodded. "Take me to him." Itachi turned and began walking. The boy followed silently.

_To be continued…_

**Alright people, I need an OC for **_**FAR**_** in the future in the story, and I'm really having a hard time thinking of one. I'm open to all suggestions, just give me some basic info about them, background, and personality. It would be awesome for someone to give me one that I can use, because I kid you not, I just can't come up with one. R&R!**


	74. Tails

Suzaku sat in his study, staring once again at the sheet of paper with the unknown technique. The door opened, and in came Itachi, along with another blonde boy. Suzaku looked up to him, thin snickered. "Who have you got here?" Suzaku asked.

"This boy would like to speak with you," Itachi answered, "Of concerns of the Akatsuki." Suzaku rubbed his chin and stood. He walked up to the boy and began looking him over. The boy stared unflinchingly into the distance. Suzaku circled the boy twice, then stopped.

"Andari Ryu," he said, "Of the bird country. The Akatsuki attacked your hometown, and your baby brother was killed in the process. You seek revenge on the Akatsuki, although you know the risks of facing them alone."

"You were staying at the inn my parents owned," Ryu said, "The night of the raid. We never learned your name, and when you were gone the morning after, we had thought you had died. You were thirteen at the time, and gave me a knife you forged."

"Do you still have the knife?" Suzkau asked. Ryu unbelted a green sheath from his belt, and then drew a shimmering blade from it.

"It has served me well in my mission. I thank you for it."

"As you should, it was one of my finest pieces. Now, what do you want me for? I think you've got the Akatsuki covered."

"I hear you are powerful, and also that the Akatsuki are your enemies."

"They seem like promising rookies," Suzaku said with a grin, "But nothing more."

"Then, would you be so kind as to help me to attain the power and information I need to destroy the Akatsuki." What Ryu said was not a question, but more of a command. Suzaku looked at him with intrest.

"Let's say," Suzaku said, slowly, "I were to help you. Then what would you give me in return?"

"I would be willing to give you my eternal service."

Suzaku clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Now we're talkin'! Come with me." He put an hand on Ryu's shoulder and walked into a room. Itachi blinked. In the room were two chairs and a table. Suzkau sat in one of the chairs, and Ryu in the other. Suzaku poured something into one of the glasses on the table, then looked up to Ryu. "Sake?" he said.

"What can you do to help me with the Akatsuki?" Ryu asked. Suzaku massaged his chin.

"First things first," he said, "Let's prove your worth, and then I'll point you towards your first Akatsuki member."

*************************

Sasaku walked into his house and collapsed on the bed. He'd just returned from the Hokage's mansion with the mission report. He began wondering why Itachi had helped him before. Different ideas swam through his head as he stared at the ceiling, but he dismissed each one as a fantasy. From what he knew of the Uchiha disaster, nothing like this should have ever happened.

_**He may have had unclear motives, but had he not done what he'd done, you'd be dead right now,**_ came the ever haunting voice of the Kumori Tora, _**Those pills don't even compare to the strength I give you. Never again should you leave without the blades.**_

_I know, _Sasaku said, _but it was Tsunade's orders. I can't just say no to the Hokage!_ He picked up the sword, and immersed himself in his own consciousness. The Kumori Tora stared at him from behind the cage that he was trapped in.

"**That may be true,**" it said, "**But with the kind of strength I give you, you shouldn't worry about. If I had my other nine tails, you would never have to fear another enemy again.**"

"Ah, yes, that story," Sasaku said, "The other nine demons each sealed away one of your tails, but at the cost of them coming to the mortal world, correct?"

"**That it is. When I had those tails, I was different. I was much more powerful.**"

"Why did you and the other tailed beasts go to war like you did?"

The Kumori Tora was silent for a minute. "**I have no memory of the reason why, but it is unimportant.**"

"It is important," Sasaku said, "If we knew that, we might be able to get your other tails back."

"**I could get those other tails back whenever I wanted,**" the Kumori Tora chuckled, "**Had I not been trapped in these blasted swords. Each of the others has a part of me inside them. I would only have to prove worthy to them to get it back now.**"

Sasaku recoiled in surprise. "It's that easy?" he asked. The Kumori Tora nodded. Sasaku thought for a minute. "What if I were to try to get all your tails back."

"**Then you would need to fight the hosts of the demons that have my tails, to prove worthy of them. You seem fairly eager to do so, is this not true?**"

"I'm only thinking that it might give me more power than I've ever dreamed of. I could become the greatest ninja to ever hit the Village Hidden in the Leaves!"

The Kumori Tora grinned. "**Very well,**" he said, "**As a gift for your help, I will make it so these swords will change into some new weapon with each tail.**"

"What?! You can do that?" Sasaku asked. The great beast nodded. "How do I know you're not just making this up?" The Kumori Tora lifted it's foreleg, and a red slash appeared on the base of the blade that held the Kumori Tora.

"**And this oath seals our pact,**" said the Kumori Tora, "**Should you ever come across any of the Demon hosts, fight them, and I shall grant you power. Great power.**" The Kumori Tora faded from Sasaku's mind before Sasaku was once again aware of the outside world.

_To be continued…_

**It kinda seems like I'm not really doing anything right now, but I'm building into the real plot. Yes, this story does have a plot, shockingly. The real action will start soon, so, until then, R&R!**


	75. Raiden's Anger

Sasaku stood in front of Lady Tsunade with Raiden to his left and Ishimaru and Karei to his right. She looked between the team. "You four," she said, "Kegai Ishimaru, Uindo Karei, Arashi Raiden, Enkou Sasaku, have been specifically chosen for this mission by the client."

"Specifically chosen?" Karei asked, "By who?"

"I don't know, the man refused to give his name. He just sent a letter to Konoha stating that he would like a certain shinobi dead. And he wanted you to do it."

"A full team for an assassination?" Sasaku asked, "Isn't that a little much?" Tsunade shook her head.

"The client requested your full team," came Tsunade's answer "And then asked if I could place one more Jounin on it. He may be exaggerating, but he may not. I want you to take this mission with the utmost seriousness."

"Why is the shinobi wanted dead?" Ishimaru asked.

"In the letter," Tsunade said, "He said that the man is a threat to a group of people. He said, quote: 'This ninja is the messenger of death for a certain group'." Ishimaru gulped. "Now, Ishimaru and Karei, please wait in the hall for a minute." With a nod, Ishimaru and Karei left. As soon as the door closed, Tsunade began speaking again.

"I hope you understand Raiden," she said, "But I am placing this mission in Sasaku's care." A slight scowl appeared on Raiden's face.

"But Tsunade," he said, "I am the leader of the squad. Why should one of the ones trained under me take command?"

"Raiden please, I'm doing this for the sake of the mission," she said, "This could be very dangerous for all of you, and I want to make sure that the responsibility is left in the right hands."

Raiden clenched his fists, until his fingernails cut into his palm and blood began dripping from his hand. This was not the first time this had happened, and Raiden was not taking it well. "Tsunade," he said, "I have been a Jounin for seven years, and he has only been a ninja for one and a half! I think I would be-"

"Case closed, Raiden!" she yelled. There was a long pause. Then Tsunade pulled out a scroll, and handed it to Sasaku. "This will have all the information you need," she said, "Go." Sasaku accepted the scroll.

"Thank you," he said with a bow, "Tsunade-sama." He then turned to leave. Raiden followed him out the door. Ishimaru and Karei were waiting outside for them, and they departed immediately.

*************************

Sasaku double-checked the scroll to make sure the location was right. They were at the northernmost point of the border between the fire country and the river country. A mountain that shouldn't exist loomed overhead. They were hidden in the forest around the mountain. "What're we dealing with here Kai?" Sasaku asked. Ishimaru made the sign of the snake and put his hands to the ground.

After a minute, Ishimaru stood. "It's not made of stone," he said, "Or anything for that matter. It's genjutsu. But I wouldn't trust just passing through it."

Sasaku nodded. "Karei, Raiden, see if you can disable it," he said. Raiden shot a glare at Sasaku. Sasaku looked back, just as intently.

"That's an order." Sasaku said the words with such power, Ishimaru and Karei shivered, and Raiden was forced to look to the ground. He began making hand signs, as did Karei. After a minute, and no progress was made, Sasaku made a sign for them to stop. He then walked up to the mountain.

Sasaku picked up a nearby leaf and dropped it on the mountain. It rested on it like there was something there. He then took off his glove and placed his hand on the mountain. He felt a solid force pushing back against him. Sasaku slipped his glove back on, then drew his swords. A black chakra surrounded them.

The swords struck the mountain, and a burst of light shot up from where it struck. It then faded, and revealed a break in the Genjutsu. Sasaku stepped through it, then motioned for the others to follow him. They began moving towards the mountain, but the hole sealed back up. "Sasaku!" Karei yelled.

Sasaku turned to the closed wall and swore. He thrust his swords into it, but nothing happened. "The jutsu has been specified," came a voice from behind Sasaku, "To only let in a large burst of pure chakra. He said you would be the only one able to enter." Sasaku turned in the direction of the voice, but only saw darkness. There was a flash, and a cut appeared on Sasaku's face.

"Who's there?!" he yelled.

"Funny," said the voice, "He said you'd be a challenge. But you don't seem like one to me. You're just a boy. A weak, helpless, pathetic boy." Another flash of light, and more cuts began appearing on Sasaku. He looked around.

"Show yourself you coward!" he called out. There was laughter throughout the darkness.

"A coward am I?" the voice said. The darkness didn't lift, but a figure appeared. It was Ryu. "Sasaku," he said, "I must do battle with you!"

"Why do you need to fight me?"

"I have my reasons. Now, I hope you can fight in the dark." Ryu vanished again. Sasaku smirked, and black chakra poured from the swords, forming an aura around him.

"I've been fighting in the dark since I got these swords," he said.

_To be continued..._


	76. Darkness

Sasaku stood in the darkness with his swords drawn. He closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, they had the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako. He looked around, and saw Ryu in the darkness. Another flash of light, and Ryu launched himself at Sasaku, a knife drawn. Sasaku parried the attack, sending Ryu into the ground to his left. Then he slashed down, but Ryu jumped out of the way.

Ryu made a hand sign. "Ninja Art:" he said, "Summoning Jutsu!" He slapped his hand to the ground. There was a loud noise, and Sasaku saw a huge mass of chakra gather where Ryu was. After a moment, the figure lashed out at Sasaku. A load roar echoed inside the fake mountain, so loud that Sasaku was forced to cover his ears. The noise stopped, and Sasaku felt himself stumble.

He was dizzy and disoriented, and on top of that, his eyes could no longer see the creature. Ryu stood about four feet away, and Sasaku slashed at him. Something appeared under Sasaku, and sent him reeling back. The creature reappeared. Sasaku examined it closely in the little time he had. It was huge, with eight legs and hundreds of eyes, along with a coiled tail covered in spikes. Sasaku swallowed; thankful the he couldn't see it.

The creature lifted a leg, and thrust it at Sasaku. He jumped up and slashed at the great beast. It's warm blood got on his face as the creature let out a shriek. Sasaku covered his ears again, and a trickle of blood came out of his right one. The creature stopped when Sasaku landed. The place on his face where the blood was burnt slightly. He wiped it off, then dodged another attack from the creature.

Slashing with all his might, Sasaku hacked off the lower joint of the creature's foreleg. There was another shriek, but it was nowhere near as loud. Then Sasaku jumped up. "Shadow Style:" he yelled, "Tsukigata Tsuki!!" He slashed his swords down, and a wave of yellow crescent energy shot at the beast. The beast split in half, and both halves fell to either side of Sasaku and Ryu.

Sasaku stood panting for a minute. "Take that!" Sasaku said. Ryu shook his head.

"This is far from over."

The two halves of the creature began expanding, and a bulge appeared where Sasaku had cut through. Sasaku looked up in awe, for two of the creatures stood above him. They both let out blood curdling shrieks. The torrent of sound went on only for a second before it ended completely. Sasaku looked up in fear. Something wasn't right, the creatures were still letting out their bellows, but he could hear nothing.

The creatures suddenly stopped and looked directly at him. Through the darkness, Sasaku could see their hundreds of piercing red eyes. He began to tremble with fear, and was then surrounded by a pure white. Within the white, one of the creatures stood, looking at him. He could see it perfectly, every detail striking fear into his very soul.

The beast had the body and legs of a great tarantula. Thick brown hairs stuck out from all over it. It's eyes were a mess above an assortment of fangs, red with blood and the size of Sasaku's forearm. Its tail was that of a scorpion, with spikes running up and down it. The spikes all dripped with a glistening green liquid, which reeked of death. At the base of each leg was a spike on which it stood.

Sasaku was paralyzed. He swallowed so hard that it hurt. Nothing but the image of the creature haunted his mind, like an unimaginable nightmare. The creature uncoiled it's tail, and then lunged foreword with it. It skewered Sasaku through the stomach, and he coughed up blood onto the tail, and went limp. The poison burned his flesh, and he fell into an endless void.

Suddenly, Sasaku fell to something hard. He was surrounded by the same white surroundings, with no damage done to his body. His gaze lifted to meet that of the great beast. He began to tremble, and then screamed. The beast once again lashed out with it's tail. The cycle never ended, and Sasaku could do nothing but fear...

*************************

Ishimaru stood blasting the mountain with a barrage of rocks. "Cut it Ishi!" Karei yelled, "It's no good! You're just wasting chakra!" Ishimaru continued with the same determined look on his face.

"Sasaku's in trouble," he said, "He needs us, I can feel it!"

"He can take care of himself." Karei turned to look at Raiden. "If he's so great a ninja, then why does he need us?" he said.

"What?!" Karei yelled, "How can you say that?! If someone's in trouble, we help them! And Sasaku needs our help!" Raiden turned to her, then smirked and turned his back. Karei ground her teeth as she stared at him. She then turned back to the mountain. Ishimaru launched another barrage of rocks at it. The mountain suddenly broke, and began to cave in on itself.

Ishimaru released the jutsu, and a cloud of dust raised into the air as the mountain crumbled. "Sasaku!" he and Karei yelled. The dust lowered, and a figure stood in the middle of it. Ryu, with Sasaku limp on one shoulder, turned to look at them. He lowered Sasaku to the ground, then disappeared. Ishimaru and Karei ran up to Sasaku. Karei kneeled by him, and felt the pulse on his neck.

"He's alive," she said, "But barely." She looked down at him. He looked calm and peaceful, as if he were merely sleeping. "Genjutsu..." she muttered. She looked up to Ishimaru. He knelt down and picked up Sasaku, putting him on his shoulders. Raiden ran over, then looked to Sasaku. An unknown emotion crossed his face. He turned away.

"We should hurry and get him back to the village," he said. Karei and Ishimaru nodded, and they took off.

_To be continued..._

**Sorry, was that to much detail? R&R!**


	77. Time's Race

It was inside the Konoha hospital, the middle of the day. Ino, Sasuke, Naruto, Ichigo, and Ishimaru all stood in Sasaku's room, just watching his motionless body. Tsunade stepped into the room. "Did you find anything?" Ino said, jumping up. Tsunade looked to her and nodded.

"After some tests," she said, "Sakura discovered a contamination, venom, if you will, in his blood. It's a rare poison, which traps the victim in a never-ending nightmare. It's no way fatal, as it has the traits of a genjutsu, but if we don't get him out of that coma soon..." she paused and looked at Sasaku, "He'll die by his own hand."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"He'll kill himself," Tsunade said, "In the dream, the only escape is to succumb and lose the will to live. I've only heard of one previous instance of this happening. The man died two days into the coma. Sasaku has a strong willpower, but I think he has four days at best."

"Four days?!" Ishimaru exclaimed, "What do we have to do to stop it?!"

"There is one cure," Tsunade said, "A flower found high in the mountains in the Land of Snow. They used to be plentiful in the land, but are now very scarce. They may not even have any now."

"Then we have to go to the Land of Snow and get the flower!" Naruto said, "It doesn't matter the cost! I'll save Sasaku no matter what! Believe it!"

"I'll help to!" Ino said, standing, "Sasaku doesn't deserve to die like this!"

"An if anyone stands in our way," Ishimaru said, "They'll wish they hadn't!"

"Tsunade-sama," Sasuke said, "Just say the word, and I will lead the mission to the Land of Snow." Tsunade looked to him with a worried look in her eye.

"If you really want to save him," she said, "Then get that flower." Sasuke nodded and left the room. Ishimaru and Naruto followed him quickly. Ino stood over Sasaku and put a hand on his face.

"Don't worry Sasaku," she said, sweeping his hair back, "We'll save you..." She kissed his forehead, then took off running after the others. Ichigo looked at his brother helplessly.

"What is powerful enough to be able to do this?" he asked.

"It's rumored," Tsunade said, "That the monster that has this venom is the spawn of Hell itself." Ichigo grasped his head in his hands, and stayed there. Shizune walked in.

"Tsunade-sama," she said, "I'm sorry, but until they return there's nothing you can do. You have other matters right now." Tsunade turned and walked out, leaving Ichigo and Sasaku.

*************************

Naruto, Sasuke, Ino, and Ishimaru stood on the prow of a ship taking them to the Land of Snow. They'd left two days before, and it would take just as long to get back. As soon as Naruto spotted the shore, he jumped off the boat and began running across the water. "Naruto!" Sasuke called. He then swore and jumped down as well. Ino and Ishimaru followed.

They went to the land, and then immediately broke for the palace, where the ruler of the Land of Snow resided. They made it in, and were about to enter the place of the ruler, but the guards cut them off. "Sorry," one of them said, "But Princess Koy-"

"Just tell her its Naruto!" Naruto said, "And it's an emergency!" The guard stepped in, and after a moment, the door opened.

"Right this way," the guard said, "But the others stay out here." Naruto nodded and walked inside. It was a large room, and a woman stood at the end. Her face brightened when she saw Naruto. He looked at her in awe.

"Naruto?!" she said, "It's been almost three years! Look at you, you're all grown up!"

"I wish I could stay and chat," Naruto said, "But I need something, and I think you might be able to help with it Koyuki."

"Help with what?" Koyuki said walking up to Naruto.

"My friend," he said, "He's been poisoned by something. The Hokage said that the only cure was high in the mountains of the Land of Snow." Koyuki's expression changed.

"What you're asking for," she said, "is the Tear of God. They are almost nonexistent now."

"Please!" Naruto pleased, "We need this or he could die!" Koyuki brought a hand to her face and began thinking. Then she walked over to a box and pulled it off the shelf it was on.

"In the past year," she said, "We have only been able to find one of these flowers." She extended the box to Naruto. "I trust your motives, and I know you'll make good use of it." Naruto took the box, then looked back up to her.

"You're just giving it to me?" he asked. Koyuki nodded.

"If your friend is in as bad a condition as you say he is, then I suggest you leave immediately," she said. Naruto bowed, and then looked up to her.

"Thank you," he said, "We owe you a great deal for this."

"No," Koyuki replied, shaking her head, "Now I've repaid my debt to you, Naruto." Naruto stared at her, then nodded and ran out. "Hurry," she called after him, "The last boat to the mainland leaves soon!"

Naruto ran out into the hall. "I got it!" he said, showing the others the box.

"Good," Sasuke said, "Now let's hurry!" Everyone ran as fast as they could to the docks. Unfortunately, there wasn't a ship in sight. Naruto stamped his foot in the ground.

"Dammit!" he yelled, "How are we supposed to get back now?!" Ino stared hopefully out over the water. As if to reply to her, the water suddenly began freezing into a bridge shape. It stretched out over the water as far as they could see.

"What is that?" she said.

"Who cares?!" Naruto said, "We have to use it if we're going to make it!"

"Are you saying we run all the way to the mainland?!" Ishimaru exclaimed. Naruto nodded, then took off quickly, followed by Ino. Ishimaru and Sasuke shot each other quick glances, then ran off after them.

_To be continued..._


	78. Curse Mark

Naruto had run for over a day straight across the mysterious ice bridge. Ino and Ishmaru had fallen behind for lack of energy, and Sasuke had to stay back with them. The bridge came to an abrupt end, and Naruto leapt onto the mainland. He then began an all out sprint towards Konoha. The other three made it a half hour after him. Ino and Ishimaru continued running, but Sasuke paused.

Someone walked to the end of the ice bridge, then made a hand sign. The bridge melted into the water. "You helped us," Sasuke said, "You froze the water so we could cross. Who are you?" The person turned around, and Sasuke's eyes widened. "Itachi..." he said. He drew a kunai.

"Little brother," Itachi said, "What do you care about most? Your revenge on me, or making sure Sasaku survives?" Sasuke growled and glared at Itachi. Then he turned the other way and ran as fast as he could. Itachi pushed a button on the radio on his ear. "Suzaku-sama," he said, "They were able to retrieve the flower."

"Good," Suzaku said, "It would be a shame if our test killed the target. Report back here when you discover Sasaku's status."

"Yessir," Itachi said, before vanishing.

*************************

Sakura sat by Sasaku, observing for any changes that suggest he may be dying. A single bead of sweat ran down his forehead. Sakura noticed a small red line run up Sasaku's arm from under his glove. She removed the glove, and gasped when she saw Sasaku's curse mark. It was red, and spinning madly, shooting lots of the lines up his arm. She removed his jacket, and saw the shoulder had been completely covered by the mark.

"Lady Tsunade!" she called, "Quickly, come here!" Tsunade ran into the room after a minute.

"What is-" she said, but cut herself off when she saw Sasaku's arm. "A curse mark?" she said, "How long has he had that?" Sakura shook her head.

"But what does that mean if it's reacting?" she asked.

"I don't know," Tsunade said, "I have no idea if it's helping Sasaku or hurting him, so for the time being there's nothing we can do but watch." The lines began crossing Sasaku's face, then faded to black and stuck like tattoos. After a half hour, the mark began spreading again, and it almost looked like Sasaku was wearing a mask and suit, the mark was so thick.

In another three hours, it spread all the way, covering his body. That's when Sasaku began to change. "What's happening?" Sakura asked.

"He may have reached the advanced status of his mark," Tsunade replied. Then Sakura let out a gasp. Sasaku had pale skin, and solid white hair. His hands had long sharp fingernails, and his knuckles were bulging spikes. His eyes opened, one a blood red Sharingan, the other an unusually pale Byakugan. He turned his head, and looked at Tsunade.

"Sasaku?!" she exclaimed, "Are you alright?!" Sasaku didn't say a word. He turned his head back up, then sat up on the edge of the bed. Steel fan-like objects burst from Sasaku's arms, and he jumped foreword, straight through the wall of the hospital. Tsunade and Sakura ran foreword, and watched as Sasaku glided over the village. Naruto ran through the door into the room.

He looked around, then to the hole in the wall. He saw Sasaku, then set down the box. "What happened?!" he yelled.

"I don't know," Tsunade said, "But you have to get him back here! I think he's still in the genjutsu!" Naruto swore and jumped foreword through the hole. He made a dozen shadow clones and began following Sasaku, who flew clear over the wall of the village. Tsunade turned to Sakura. "I need four jounin!" she said, "They are to be after Sasaku immediately!"

"Yes," Sakura said, "Tsunade-sama!" She ran out of the room. Tsunade stared after Naruto as his clones cleared the wall.

"This kid..." she said, "What is with him? He should be dead by now..."

*************************

Sasaku glided over the forest. His left eye, the Byakugan, saw a group coming up from behind him. He stopped and landed. He then turned around, and saw thirteen Narutos. He held a palm towards some of the Narutos, and a burst of fire launched from it, obliterating the clones. He did it again, wiping out the rest of them. His eyes caught the real one disappearing, and then reappearing right behind him.

Sasaku grabbed Naruto, then caught him by the throat and held him up against a tree. Naruto began struggling and kicking, but Sasaku only stared at Naruto as the life slowly drained from him. He stared into Naruto's eyes, then monotonously said, "Not you." He then threw Naruto into the trunk of a nearby tree, knocking him out. He turned and continued his glide.

Naruto sat under the tree for another thirty minutes, before the jounin stumbled upon him. Kakashi, Gai, Raiden, and Neji stood there. "I'll return him to the village," Neji said. The others nodded, and Neji took off with Naruto. The rest of the Jounin continued towards Sasaku. Kakashi sniffed. "We're not to far behind him," he said, "We should catch up with him soon."

"So," Gai said, "Sasaku had a curse mark, and that's what may have broken the Genjutsu spell?"

"No, not broken it," Raiden said in response, "He's still in the trance, but he's fighting it."

"What I'd like to know is how Sasaku got this curse mark in the first place," said Kakashi.

"Does it matter how he got the curse mark?" Raiden said, "If we don't get him out of it soon, and get him the cure for that venom, he'll die." Kakashi and Gai nodded. Then something occurred to Raiden. "Does he have the swords with him?!"

Kakashi swore. "I don't know," he said, "But if he does, prepare for the worst."

"Hah," Gai said, "Even with those swords, he still wouldn't be a match for us!"

"No, you're wrong," Raiden said. Kakashi and Gai looked to him with interest. "I've seen his strength," he said, "He is not at all reliant on the Kumori Tora, even if he thinks he is. He could be a challenge for even Lady Tsunade without the swords... or this mark. As much as I hate to admit it, he is the most killed ninja this world has ever seen."

_To be continued..._


	79. Saved? Or Not

Sasaku glided over the top of the forest, heading towards the sound village. He just felt it, HE was there, the one who had done this to him. In his current state, he had no control over himself. He was dead set on killing the one who had done this to him. His Byakugan sensed three new presences behind him.

"Minor threats," he said, stopping, "Will eliminate." He turned, and Kakashi shot out of the forest at him. He parried Kakashi's Lightning Blade, and then hit Kakashi across the face. Kakashi went sprawling sideways, then Gai came in and kicked at Sasaku. Sasaku dove in past the kick and rammed Gai in the stomach.

Raiden shot from the trees, weaving constant hand signs. Sasaku was about to use his Sharingan to copy them, but was stopped. The jutsu was a Kekkei Genkai. "Arashi Style:" Raiden said, "Thunder of Heaven!" Clouds formed overhead, and a bolt fell from the sky and struck Sasaku. He stood with some damage done, but not much. Another one came down at him, but he deflected it with his palm. It hit the tree Raiden stood on.

The tree exploded and Raiden jumped off it. He came at Sasaku at full speed. Sasaku shot a burst of flames from his palm. A flaming log shot at Sasaku, with three paper bombs. They blew up, and Sasaku jumped over the flames and smoke. Gai and Kakashi came at Sasaku at the same time.

Kakashi nearly landed a punch on him, but Sasaku kicked Gai across the face, knocking him into Kakashi, and spiraling them into a tree. Raiden jumped up, and a bolt of lightning fell from the sky at Sasaku again. He deflected this one as well, sending it towards Raiden. He dodged it, then made a hand sign. "Arashi Style:" he yelled, "Flowing Storm Jutsu!"

A bolt struck Raiden, and then he stood with static jumping off every part of his body. As fast as light, he was next to Sasaku. He landed a punch in Sasaku's stomach, sending him into the air. A bolt of lightning struck him midair. He unfolded the metal plates on his arms and glided down towards Raiden. Gai jumped in front of him with a hand sign at the ready.

Three illusion clones of Gai appeared and jumped at Sasaku. With his eyes, he was able to easily find the real one and knock him through a tree. Kakashi looked to Raiden, then formed another Lightning Blade. "Raiden!" he said, "Just before I make impact, strike my hand with your jutsu!" Raiden nodded, and Kakashi jumped at Sasaku.

As he was about to hit, the sky flashed, and a bolt hit Kakashi's palm, sending an explosion of energy flying in every direction, knocking Sasaku and Kakashi back. Sasaku stood from the hole he'd made in the tree. "Restatement," Sasaku said monotonously, "Moderate threats."

"Temee!" Raiden yelled, appearing next to Sasaku again. He tried to land another punch, but Sasaku caught his fist. Then Raiden became a burst of electricity, and reformed on the other side of Sasaku a split second later. He did it again, but this time the electricity passed through Sasaku, sending him to his knees. Sasaku then whipped around and shot a wave of flames at Raiden. He narrowly escaped, once again using his Kekkei Genkai to move next to Kakashi and Gai. Sasaku formed a Chidori in one hand, and the Rasengan in the other. Raiden swore.

Sasaku slammed his palms together. Raiden sent a burst of electro-waves from his body, knocking Gai and Kakashi in either direction away from him. A rainbow of colors exploded from Sasaku's palms, and a blast shot from them. They obliterated the area Raiden was standing. "RAIDEN!" Kakashi and Gai yelled. The beam ended, and Raiden's burnt body lay on the wreckage of the blast.

Kakashi went up to him, but he could tell without even looking, Raiden was dead. Kakshi then turned to Sasaku. He looked to Kakashi. "You've been warned," he said. Then he turned and left. Gai ran up to Kakashi.

"Should we go after him?" he said.

"That wont be necessary," came a voice from behind them. They turned and saw Sasuke, with Ishimaru, Karei, and Ino. "We'll take it from here!" Sasuke said, "Let's move!" The group left then, right after Sasaku. Ino was holding the case containing the flower. They caught up with him, but this time he didn't even bother to stop. Sasuke jumped foreword, cutting Sasaku off.

He stopped and landed in a branch across from Sasuke. "Greater threat."

A clang of metal rang out as Sasaku blocked a kunai with his glove. He turned to look at the one who threw it, Karei. "Moderate threat."

Ishimaru shot a barrage of rocks at Sasaku, who did a palm rotation, shattering them. "Greater threat."

He then turned to Ino. He stared at her for a minute, then his eyes widened. "I...no..." He clutched his head. Then fell foreword to the ground. Ino rushed up to him, then grabbed the flower from the case. She began making a medicine with it with the little supplies she'd brought with her. As she worked quickly, Sasaku's curse mark receded, and he rested with a slightly strained face.

The other ninja gathered around, watching as Ino worked. Suddenly, Sasaku's breathing stopped. "No!" Ino said, just as she finished up. She poured the liquid down Sasaku's throat. They waited a full minute, and nothing happened. Karei turned and buried her face in Ishimaru's chest. Sasuke bowed his head.

Ino placed a trembling hand on Sasaku's face. Tears formed in her eyes, and she hid her face in her hands. Slow and steady sobs escaped her breath, as the breeze ran through her hair, tossing it into Sasaku's face. He finally looked at peace; unmoving, restful, and a small tear in the corner of his eye.

_To be continued..._


	80. Only the Good

Sasaku's eyes fluttered open. His started breathing, and it felt as if his whole body had been reset. Ino was lying on his chest, crying. Sasuke, Ishimaru, and Karei were also there. Sasuke caught Sasaku's eye, and gaped. "You okay?" Sasaku asked Ino. She jumped up and looked at him.

"Sasaku!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. He put his arms around her and held her, ignoring the exclamations from the others. He held her tightly as tears of joy spilled from her cheeks. "I thought I lost you..." she muttered. Sasaku smiled.

"C'mon," he said, "Don't talk crazy. I couldn't leave you, not without saying goodbye first." Ino let out a small laugh mixed in with a sob. Sasaku kissed her again, then whispered in her ear, "You're the only reason I was able to hang on in that nightmare. I wondered what I would do if I could never see you again, so that's why I lived on that long. Thank you."

Itachi stood behind a tree, watching around it. He hit the button on the headset. "Target is alive," he said, "Mission accomplished." There was some static, then came in Suzaku's voice.

"Good," he said, "Now hurry up and get back here! There's nothing left in the fridge!" Itachi sighed.

"I'll pick up some stuff on the way," he said, "Any breakthrough on the technique."

"Yes!" Suzaku said, "That kid Ryu's a genius! He was able to decode it with just one look at it! As soon as you return we'll begin Phase 2. Now get moving!" Itachi began jumping through the trees towards Oto.

"Now what was the technique?" Itachi asked.

"Amazing!" came Suzaku's reply, "It's satanic, cruel, inhumane, and freaking awesome!"

"Go on," Itachi said. Suzaku began laughing.

"Ryu will show you when you get back." The connection ended, and Itachi groaned.

_Why did I agree to work for that punk..._ he thought.

*************************

Tsunade heard a knock on her office door. "Enter!" she said. Sasaku walked in.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked. She nodded, and motioned for him to sit down in a chair that had been placed in front of Tsunade's desk. Once he was situated, Tsunade looked him directly in the eyes.

"I've given you a day to rest and to get your stories straight," she said, "Now, explain the curse mark on your hand." Sasaku began going through the details of the mission against Orochimaru, how he'd been given the curse mark, how it hadn't been identified, and how Suzaku sealed it.

Once he was finished, Tsunade then looked at him again. "Are you aware of what happened while you were in your advanced curse mark status?" she asked. Sasaku shook his head. "I sent a team of Jounin to retrieve you," she continued, "After Naruto had left. You knocked out Naruto, and then the four Jounins found him. Neji returned with him.

"However, the other three, Raiden, Gai, and Kakashi, all confronted you. You fought them, and for the most part, were winning. As you were making the final strike, Raiden allowed you to destroy him, in order to save Kakashi and Gai." Sasaku's eyes widened.

"Then..." he said, looking at his hands, "Raiden's dead?" Tsunade nodded. Sasaku continued staring at his hands. "Raiden is dead, and it's all my fault..." his hands began trembling, and his hid his face in them. After a moment to regain himself, he looked back up to Tsunade. "I am ready," he said, "To face the consequences."

"Normally," Tsunade said, "You would either be killed or placed in prison for life." Sasaku gulped. "However, since the circumstances are different, you will be stripped of your title as a shinobi temporarily." She extended her hand, palm up. Sasaku took off his headband and handed it to her. Then he gave her his weapons pouch, his traps he had hidden in his clothes, and, with much hesitation, his swords.

"Good," she said, "I want to see you back here in three months, and not a moment before."

"Why so short?" he asked.

"Because in three months," she replied, "Suzaku will return to the Leaf Village. At that point, I want you to be ready for him, which would include being one of my leading Jounin."

"Suzaku is coming back?" Sasaku asked with some surprise. Tsunade nodded.

"He says Oto is finally in order, and he'll say his goodbyes and return soon." She said, "But until he gets back, you are dismissed." Sasaku bowed and left the office. Ino waited for him outside. They exchanged a few words, and Sasaku walked himself over to the training field. There, he went to the monument for KIA ninjas. Raidens name was at the bottom of the list.

Sasaku stood staring at the name for hours. A light drizzle had began sometime while he was standing there. Finally, Sasuke came to the monument to see Sasaku. He just stood a few feet behind him, and said nothing. "He never got a real chance to prove himself," Sasaku said, "Even in the end, he was outdone."

"It's not your fault," Sasuke said, "You weren't yourself." Sasaku lowered his head.

"I know that," Sasaku said, "And I'm smart enough not to beat myself up over it, or to find excuses. No, he was a great man, and died wrongly."

"He died in action," Sasuke said, "Saving his comrades. When you are a Shinobi, that is one of the only ways to go." Sasaku remained silent for a minute. "Let's go, it's getting late." Sasaku nodded, and began walking away with Sasuke in front of him.

_To be continued..._

**All right! The real stuff starts in the next chapter! This filler crap is starting to get old, and I'm ready to start the real plot! Now, it's time to let it begin! R&R!**


	81. Death of the Great

_Three months later..._

Sasaku stood in his bedroom, getting ready for Suzaku's arrival. He strapped on his headband. _Man it feels good to have this thing back!_ he thought. He then strapped on his swords, and the presence of the Kumori Tora filled him once again. _Miss me?_ asked Sasaku casually. He got a growl in response.

Sasaku then ran out his door, and to the Leaf Villages main gate. Tsunade and Naruto stood there waiting. Sasaku joined them, and Sasuke soon appeared. They stared out, and then saw, in the distance, walking towards the village, Suzaku. He had changed, though. His skin was paler, and he had jet-black hair. His eyes were bright and cheerful though, and his face bore his usual goofy expression.

The four of them watched as Suzaku slowly walked foreword. When he finally made it, he shook Sasuke and Sasaku's hand, and then gave Naruto a light hug. Then he turned to Tsunade. "Good to have you back," she said, "Now we've got some things to take care of."

"Always business with you idn't* it?" he replied. Tsunade smiled.

"I guess being in the Sound Village hasn't changed you," she said, "I'm assuming you haven't lost your skills?"

"Of course not!" Suzaku said with a grin, "In fact, I picked up a thing or two in Oto! I bet your itching to learn some of it, huh Sasuke?"

"Yes," Sasuke said, "Suzaku-sempai!" Suzaku gave an unnoticeable look of disapproval to Sasuke, then turned back to Tsunade and smiled.

"So what'll you have me do first?" Suzaku said.

"First," Tsunade said, "I want you and Sasaku in my office immediately." Sasaku and Suzaku glanced at each other. They walked with Tsunade to her office in the Hokage mansion. Once they were in, Tsunade closed the door then walked to her desk and sat down. "Now," she said, "The two of you are some very skilled Shinobi. Therefore, I would like to place you both on the Black Ops."

A look of surprise crossed both of their faces. "The Black Ops?" Sasaku asked. Tsunade nodded.

"They would be honored to have the two of you on their team," she said. Suzaku smiled.

"Thank you Tsunade-sama." he said.

Sasaku stared at Tsunade with a mixture of awe and joy. This was something he'd actually been opting for. And now, he'd finally got it. He began wondering what the future would have in store for him. "I will take the position with great honor," he said.

"As you should," Tsunade replied, "Now Sasaku, I need to talk to Suzaku alone. Come back here tomorrow morning, and we'll discuss some things." Sasaku nodded and left. He was on cloud nine for the rest of the day, and even as he went to sleep that night, he couldn't stop thinking.

*************************

Sasaku opened his eyes. He was in the Konoha hospital again, with a tube going down his throat. His head and right arm were wrapped in tight bandages. He sat up, but had to lay back down because his back hurt so much. He turned his head around. He was in a virtually empty room, with a table next to him and a note on the table.

_Sasaku, if you wake up, stay in your room. I'll be there, along with some investigators, at about noon. We need to find out what happened, and you may be the only one that knows. Try to clear your thoughts, and please be careful with what you say. I think they think you did it. -Ino_

"What is she talking about?" Sasaku asked himself, "I just went to sleep and woke up like this." He looked to the clock. It was six in the morning. He closed his eyes and waited. He'd become really good at waiting. He sat in the bed with his eyes closed, until he heard Ino's footsteps enter the room. He looked up to her. She had a grave look on her face.

"What happened in to Lady Tsunade?" said a man behind Ino. He held a notepad, and had a serious look about him. His headband was around his waist.

"That's what I'd like to know," Sasaku said, sitting up, regardless of how much it hurt him. The man scribbled something onto the notepad.

"Did you know you were the only survivor?" the man asked.

"The only survivor of what?!" Sasaku exclaimed.

"I really don't think he knows anything," Ino said to the man. The man scribbled down some more things.

"I'll have the doctors run some tests," the man said, "It might be amnesia." The man stood and walked out of the room.

"What happened?" Sasaku said, "Why am I in here?!"

"You went to the Hokage's office," Ino said, "Like any other day. She wanted to see you about a new member of the team or something, I can't remember. Someone heard a loud noise from her room, and when they walked in, you were lying on the ground in horrible condition..." She stopped, almost unable to go on.

"What about Lady Tsunade?" Sasaku asked, worried. When Ino didn't respond, he repeated the question a little more fiercely.

"She's dead!" Ino yelled, small tears forming, "She'd been stabbed through the heart! There was another body too, practically destroyed!" Sasaku fell back into the bed, in a state of shock. He muttered something to himself. "It wasn't even that long ago that the Third Hokage was murdered..." Ino said, "And now this..."

"Do they have any idea what happened?" Sasaku asked. Ino shook her head.

"You were the only witness." Sasaku swore, then wiped his hand over his face. He stood, and walked over to the window. The whole of Konoha was dead. Few people walked the streets, each of them fully dressed in black with their heads hung low.

"How long?"

"Yesterday morning."

Ino walked up and held onto Sasaku's arm. She leaned her head onto his shoulder, and the two stood staring out into the village.

_To be continued..._

***That was a typo at first, but then I realized that actually sounded like something Suzaku would say. R&R!**


	82. Betrayal

A congregation of people were gathered, each garbed in all black. They watched as Tsunade's coffin was lowered into the ground. Naruto walked up to the hole. He reached behind his neck, and began removing the necklace that Tsunade had given him. He held it over the hole, and allowed it to slip from his fingers. Time slowed as it fell to the darkness below. Tears flowed from his eyes, even as he bore his strong expression.

Sasaku walked up and patted Naruto on the shoulder, then lead him back into the crowd.

*************************

It was much later in the day. All of Konoha was gathered again to one place. Suzaku stepped up to a podium on a high ledge. He wore the outfit of the Fourth Hokage. "People of Konoha," he said, "I am grieved by the loss of out Fifth Hokage, may she rest in peace." He paused for a moment, allowing a few tears to show in his eyes.

"She was a great kunoichi," he continued, "And I am privileged enough to even consider her among my friends. She led the village proudly and diligently. I've known Tsunade since my father died, the Fourth Hokage, and she has always treated me like a grandson. I loved her like a grandmother, and I'm truly going to miss her."

Suzaku continued with his speech, forever on end. It was great work, and touched the hearts of everyone. He spoke of Tsunade's life, and how she always left an opening for him in the village. Finally, he reached where he was building up to. "Upon the death of this great woman, the Council has decided, that I, Namikaze Suzaku, be named, the Sixth Hokage!"

There was a roar of the crowd. Naruto let out exclamations, and Sasaku began clapping. Then Suzaku thrust his hands into the air. There was a two-inch scar on his little finger. Sasaku stared at it, and then was suddenly lost in a flashback.

_Sasaku woke up, like any other morning. He ate breakfast, reminded himself to get more milk, and got ready to leave. He went to the Hokage mansion, then knocked on Tsunade's door. "Come in," she called. Sasaku walked in. There was another boy already in the room. "Sasaku, glad you're here," she said, "Now we can get started._

_"You know of Raiden's passing, That leaves an open spot on your squad. This is Sai, I plan on having him fill that spot."_

_"Then he will lead the squad?" Sasaku asked. Tsunade shook her head._

_"No," she said, "You will. You are more experienced, and much more qualified. Sai has already agreed to this, all I need is your approval, and I will make you the Jounin leader of this squad." Sasaku stared at her with his mouth agape._

_"It would..." he said, "It'd be an hon-" Behind him the door smashed into splinters, and a kunai blasted straight through Sai's chest. It hit the wood of the chair right next to Tsunade's face. A look of shock crossed her face as a smoke bomb filled the room. Sasaku whipped around and drew his swords. Another kunai passed his cheek, and suddenly the Kumori Tora had left his hand. He turned back to Tsunade, and saw the silhouette of the sword sticking through her chest._

_"LADY TSUNADE!" he yelled. He looked around with the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako. He saw someone standing over Sai, obliterating the body. The person then turned to Sasaku, who jumped towards the figure, going into a single tailed state with the Kumori Tora. He smashed at the figure, but the person dodged. Sasaku put a cut in his pinky though._

_Then the person twisted Sasaku's arm behind his back and pinned him to the ground. He began struggling, but the person smashed Sasaku's face into the ground and drove his knee into his back. Sasaku shouted, and then threw the person off him. The figure flew back, then rushed up to Sasaku and pinned him to the ground. The swords went flying a few feet away._

_The ninja put their face inches from Sasaku's, but he couldn't see it from the smoke. However, it was unmistakable whose voice it was. "You're lucky I need you alive," Suzaku said._

The crowd still roared around Sasaku. Suzaku stood working the crowd. Sasaku raised a finger and pointed it at Suzaku. "You!" he yelled, "It was you that killed Tsunade!!" The village fell silent. Suzaku stared at Sasaku, and then a serious look crossed his face.

"Why didn't I realize it sooner," Suzaku said, "Every piece of evidence, every single clue, every drop of blood... it was you, Enkou Sasaku, that murdered the Fifth Hokage!" The crowd began speaking and muttering. "The Hokage," Suzaku continued, "Was stabbed with nearly pure chakra. Your Kumori Tora is the only sword like that!"

Everyone around Sasaku; Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Ishimaru, Karei, and Konohamaru, all turned to look at him. "What reason would I have to kill the Hokage?!"

"On top of that, why would he be the only one left alive? Any sane assassin would leave no witnesses! And he didn't even have severe or life threatening wounds! Konoha, in an attempt to eliminate the Hokage, he also tried to make himself look like the hero who fought off the murderer! Arrest him, now!"

A group of people all jumped at Sasaku. "It wasn't me!" Sasaku yelled, "Suzaku's a liar! He murdered Tsunade!" The people ignored him. He jumped into the air and onto a roof. There was a mess of confusion as another group jumped onto the roof too. Sasaku ran as fast as he could out of the village.

"Find him!" Suzaku said, "Bring him back here alive! The man that kills him will suffer the death toll!" Everyone spread out over the village and outside. Suzaku turned around and smiled to himself. "Everything according to plan..." he said.

_To be continued..._


	83. Part of the Plan

**Just wanted to clear this out, the fact that Sasaku and Suzaku's names are so similar is pure coincidence. I created a character named Sasaku a long time before I started this story, and the guy that helps with the story created Suzaku before we even met. I don't know how it happened, it just did. R&R!**

"Spread out and find him!" Suzaku yelled, "I want Sasaku captured! Now!" The whole village was a mad rush after those accusations flew. Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, and Ino all stood in the middle of it. Sasuke began to move.

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked, grabbing his arm.

"I'm going to find Sasaku and get some answers!" Sasuke said.

"I'll go with you!" Ino exclaimed. Suzaku walked up to them.

"Ino," he said, "I need to talk to you about Sasaku." Ino shot a nervous glance to Sasuke and Naruto, then agreed and left with Suzaku,

"Well," Naruto said, "Lets go find Sasaku!" He punched his palm.

"You don't actually think Sasaku did it do you?" Hinata asked.

"Of course he did!" Naruto yelled, "It couldn't possibly be Suzaku! Sasaku was the only one it could have been!"

"But why would he have killed Tsunade?" Sasuke said. Naruto frowned.

"He wanted to be the Sixth Hokage!" Naruto said, "And when Suzaku got it, not him, he started pointing fingers!"

"I don't think you should just jump to conclusions,"

"I'm not jumping to anything! My brother would never murder Tsunade! Never!"

"Are you just siding with him because he's your brother?"

"No! All the evidence points to Sasaku anyways!"

"You don't even know what the evidence is!" Sasuke glared at Naruto, and they almost went to blows.

"Both of you stop," Hinata said, "We'll never know until we find Sasaku and talk to him!" Naruto glared at Sasuke a little longer, then turned and left.

"Hinata," Sasuke said, "Can you use your Byakugan to help me find Sasaku?" She nodded, and the two of them took off. Sasuke began thinking of where Sasaku might have left to hide. He suddenly thought of the waterfall, and decided to follow that hunch. He led Hinata in that direction, and took out his ocarina. He played a few notes, and Taka appeared on his shoulder. "Scout the area," Sasuke said, "Make sure no one follows."

The bird flapped off into the sky. "I found him!" Hinata said, "He's hiding behind the waterfall up ahead." Sasuke allowed himself a moment before running ahead and diving into the waterfall. The tip of the Kumori Tora was at the tip of his nose, and there was black chakra leaking from it.

Sasaku eyed Sasuke suspiciously. "I'm only here to talk," Sasuke said, "I need to know the truth of what happened."

"The truth is what I said," Sasaku told him, "Namikaze Suzaku murdered Lady Tsunade. I'm standing by that, and nothing will make me back down." He stared Sasuke straight in the eyes as he said this.

"I believe you," Sasuke said, "But what do you want me to do?"

"Grab whoever you can as fast as you can. We're getting out of here."

"Who should I get?"

"Find Karei and Ishimaru. Hinata's outside, so I take it she's with you. Then Ino, Sakura, Naruto-"

"Naruto is with his brother on this one." There was a minute of silence.

"Just," Sasaku stuttered, "Bring whoever you can. Meet back here when things die down." Sasuke nodded, then left the waterfall. Sasaku sat down and closed his eyes, putting his hand on the swords whenever he caught anyone getting near, only to turn another direction.

Though his eyes were closed, he sought no sleep. For two days he sat, only watching and waiting for Sasuke to return. In the evening of the second day, Sasuke showed up. No one else was with him. He walked into the waterfall. "How come you didn't bring anyone?" Sasaku asked.

"They're trying to help out Ino," Sasuke said, "Apparently, Suzaku's taken her captive, and everyone's trying to sneak her out."

"What?!" Sasaku yelled.

"Before you do anything rash," Sasuke continued, "The moment you step foot in that village, you'll cause a huge uproar. Just leave it to the others." Sasaku clenched his fists, then forced himself to sit down. "It'll be fine," Sasuke said, "They promised they'd save Ino for you."

*************************

"How exactly is the girl important?" Ryu asked. Suzaku leaned back in his chair and grinned.

"We need to make sure Sasaku gets back here, don't we?" Suzaku said, "This is his motivation to get stronger and come back."

"Well," Ryu replied, "Sasaku's friends are going to retrieve that 'motivation' in about twenty seconds if you don't get on it." Suzaku raised an eyebrow at Ryu.

"Remind me to ask you how you knew that," he said standing.

*************************

Ishimaru and Sakura were creeping through the basement of the Hokage mansion. "You said she was down here," Sakura said, "But I don't know where she could be." Ishimaru stopped and put his ear to the ground. Then he moved to a stone wall and put a hand on it. After a moment, he began moving it down with his jutsu.

Inside was a dark room, where you couldn't see anything. Sakura grabbed a nearby lantern and lit the room. Ino was sleeping in a bed, and Suzaku sat on the edge of the bed. "Surprise," he said. He jumped at them, but Ishimaru thrust a rock shield into the air. It barely stopped Suzaku's attack.

"RUN!" Ishimaru yelled. Sakura hesitated, and then Ishimaru put a hole in the roof and moved the ground under them to the hole. Suzaku smiled and nodded. Ryu and a hooded figure, Itachi, jumped up after them. Ishimaru and Sakura ran out until they found Karei. "We've been found!" Ishiamru said, "We have to get out of here!"

Karei nodded and began running with them. Suddenly, Itachi and Ryu cut them off. Ishimaru knocked the other two back, and then collapsed the roof. Itachi knocked it away from them though, and then charged at Ishimaru. He lashed out and grabbed Itachi's arm. It suddenly began turning to stone.

Itachi swore and kicked Ishimaru before it could get further then his elbow. The hood fell off as he stumbled back. "Suzaku," Ishimaru muttered, "You really are not making this easy..."

_To be continued..._


	84. Naruto Joins

**Sorry I haven't updated in a long time, but I wasn't able to get on fanfiction for a good while. But, anyways, here's your constantly plot twist and cliffhanger ridden fanfic. R&R!**

Pacing back and forth, staring at the ground, Sasaku couldn't keep his mind away from the others. They were supposed to be back over an hour ago. "Something's wrong, I just know it!" Sasaku said.

"There's nothing we can do," Sasuke said, "Nothing but sit and wait."

"No," Sasaku replied, "No. We can go into the village and-"

"And the moment you stepped in you'd be taken to Suzaku. No matter how strong you are, Suzaku could kill you like a ant under his boot." Sasaku looked at Sasuke, then continued pacing. Then he saw them coming. Ishimaru, Karei, and Sakura burst through the waterfall.

"Where's Ino?" Sasaku asked.

"We tried to get her back," Ishimaru said, "But Suzaku confronted us. Along with that, he was with the guy who poisoned you," he pointed to Sasaku, "And Uchiha Itachi."

"What?!" Sasuke stood. Sakura stepped foreword.

"They must all be in an alliance," Sakura said, "But why they want Ino we weren't able to find out."

"You guys didn't," Karei said, "But I did. He's using Ino as bait to get Sasaku back there."

"Why would he go to such extremes to get me back there?" Sasaku asked himself.

"Does that matter," Sasuke said, "You can't go back, or you'll... where is Hinata?"

"She went to try and convince Naruto to come with us," Sakura said, "He's in complete denial. He won't believe his own family could betray him."

"That's what I thought too," Sasaku said, thinking back to his dad.

"There's more pressing matters right now!" Karei said, "How are we supposed to beat Suzaku?"

"Beat Suzaku?!" Sakura exclaimed, "Are you mad?!"

"He murdered Lady Tsunade," Sasaku said, "He deceived the whole Leaf Village, and he went through the trouble of scaring me away. He wants something, and I doubt that it's the title of Hokage." There was silence for a long while. "I need to get stronger." Everyone looked at Sasaku.

"I know I can't save the Village right now," he continued, "I can't save Ino now. I have to get stronger, so I can destroy that traitor Suzaku!"

"How do you plan on doing that?" Ishimaru asked. Sasaku held out his swords. He looked at the little red slash on the Kumori Tora.

"These swords," he said, "The most powerful swords in existence. One contains the ten-tailed demon, the Kumori Tora. He lost all of his tails to the other demons, sending them into the mortal world. Each of these other demons has one of the Kumori Tora's tails." He paused and looked up. "We're going to find those demons, we're going to get those tails, and we're going to save everyone."

He stood and held out his hand. "Who's with me?" Sasuke walked up and placed his hand on Sasaku's. Ishimaru did the same, then Sakura and Karei. "Thanks guys. I'll need all the help I can get."

"This is your fight Sasaku," Karei said, "You're our last hope."

"You and Naruto," Sasuke added. Sakura, Karei, and Ishimaru all shot him a look. "I know Naruto," Sasuke said, "He'll come. He knows who his friends are."

* * *

Hinata and Naruto stood just outside the Hokage mansion. "How could you try to turn me against the village?" Naruto asked her. Hinata looked down and put her hand to her face.

"I just..." she said, "Sasaku... he couldn't..."

"Hinata," Naruto said, standing up straight, "I'm settling this once and for all. I'm going to go in there and talk to my brother! I trust you, but I trust him too!" Hinata flinched, and Naruto walked inside. He went to the Hokage office. Just before he knocked, he heard voices on the other side.

"-that's it then?" said a voice, Ryu, "That's your plan?"

"Yep," Suzaku said, "After I'm done with Sasaku, I can destroy the Five Great Nations!" Naruto gasped and cracked open the door a little.

"There's just one problem," said a voice Naruto barely recognized, "The swords. What if he actually succeeds in getting all ten tails? You're dead if that happens."

"You underestimate me Itachi," Suzaku said, "When the time comes, I'll unleash the ultimate technique. Sasaku will beg for death, and when that time comes-" He stopped and looked directly at Naruto. Naruto ran for his life. Itachi and Ryu looked at the door.

"Should I go after him?" Ryu asked, drawing his knife. Suzaku waved a hand.

"Not necessary," he said, "My brother is of no threat to us."

* * *

"So it's settled," Ishimaru said, "If Naruto doesn't show up by noon tomorrow, we go looking for the first tailed demon without him." Sasaku smiled.

"We leave tomorrow morning," he said.

"Are you sure that's enough time?" Sakura asked. As if to answer her question, Naruto jumped through the waterfall, followed by Hinata. He stared at Sasaku in silence for a long while.

"I doubted you," Naruto said, "For a moment in my life, I denied what I knew was the truth for a hopeless fantasy. My brother said he's a member of the Leaf Village. No. He is an enemy of the entire land. He wants to destroy the Five Great Nations." Sasaku smiled and closed his eyes.

"Figures," he said, "They all want the same clichéd thing. Except this time it's for real." He looked up to Naruto. "Thanks for coming. You know what this means for you, right?"

"It means," Naruto said, "That we're hated by the Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

"It means," Sasuke said, "That any village we go to, we could be wanted." Sasaku nodded. He took off his headband, and held his sword to it. In one swift movement, he put a large slash through the Leaf symbol on the headband. Everyone looked at him nervously.

"I don't expect you to do the same," Sasaku said, "But for the time being, I consider myself a rouge of the Village Hidden in the Leaves." And with that, he walked towards the back of the cave and lay down to get some sleep.

_To be continued..._


	85. Gaara

"That's his plan?" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke nodded.

"Each of the Junchuuriki," Sasuke said, "To get back each of the tails."

"But then he must know..."

"Probably, but he'll do anything to get Ino back, and to stop Suzaku." Naruto and Sasuke sat around a fire they had built. Everyone else had fallen asleep by now.

"Anything huh?" Naruto said to himself, leaning back, "I wonder who really is stronger."

"I've got a bad feeling about this whole mission," Sasuke said.

"Why? What's up?"

"Think about it," Sasuke said looking straight into Naruto's eyes, "We're going after the nine tailed beasts of the land. It would be impossible for us not to attract the attention of the Akatsuki. We'll be endangering ourselves, along with the hosts of those tailed beasts." Naruto shot a look over to Sasaku, who was asleep in a corner.

"Should we tell him about the dangers?" Sasuke looked at the ground between his feet, silent for a minute.

"No," he said, "Sasaku would go regardless, and he's in a very unstable state right now. He might not take the warning the way we're trying to deliver it. He might think we're trying to stop him from doing what he's doing. The last thing we need is for Sasaku to become even more emotionally unstable."

Naruto nodded. _This is a crazy mission,_ he thought,_ There's just no way Sasaku will be able to do this. He's talking about fighting Gaara, and others like him! But maybe I don't want him to do it. Maybe I just know the way this will turn out. Maybe I'm just scared. If he's able to beat all the other, then will I even be able to control the fox?_

_ No matter what I say to myself, no matter how much I try to convince myself this is a bad idea, I know it's the only way to defeat Suzaku. It's his fight, and the only way he could ever come close to beating Suzaku is with all ten tails of the Kumori Tora._ Naruto shook his head.

_This is just as much my fight as his. Suzaku is my brother, and I need to right the wrong he has done. We can save the Leaf Village, and avenge Tsunade. We can prevent Suzaku's plan from being completed. This is the real deal, and I can't get scarred! I'll save the village, no matter what!_

* * *

Sasaku, Ishimaru, and Naruto stood alone in the Kazekage office with Gaara. Gaara looked to Sasaku's headband. "You are a rouge from the Village Hidden in the Leaves," he said, "Why do you so openly present yourself to me?"

"I am only a rouge because the village has turned on me," Sasaku replied, "I still have a love for the village, but the new Hokage is corrupted."

"How so?"

"He is manipulative and cunning. He murdered the fifth Hokage to place his position of power. And according to Naruto, he says he wants to destroy the Five Great Shinobi Nations."

"Those are powerful accusations."

"I only speak the truth," Sasaku said, putting his fist by his face, "Upon my word as a ninja." Gaara stared at Sasaku.

"I don't know whether to believe you or not," he finally said, "I've heard nothing but praise of Suzaku, especially from the Sound Village."

"I've seen the true nature of Suzaku," Naruto said, "I knew that he was hateful towards the village, no matter the mask he put on it. I always knew it, but I was in complete denial. I didn't want to think my only family was like this. But you have to trust me, Konoha has become a much different place."

"Naruto..." Gaara muttered. He closed his eyes and leaned foreword, resting his face on his fingertips. "I'll make an investigation," he said, "And until it is over, I'll ask that you leave the Sand Village."

"There is," Sasaku said, "One more request. He drew the Kumori Tora and presented it to Gaara. Gaara accepted it, then looked at the blade for a minute.

"What is this," he said, "A tenth demon, sealed inside a sword, and its nine tails belong to each of the Junchuuriki."

"I wish for your demon," Sasaku said, "The Shikaku beast, to give me the second tail of the Kumori Tora." Gaara leaned back in his chair this time and turned half from him. He stared out the window in some sort of concentration.

"The Shikaku," Gaara said, "Says he will forgive the transgressions of the Kumori Tora, but the wielder of the blades must prove himself worthy in battle."

"I'm ready when you are." Sasaku said. Gaara looked into his eyes, then nodded.

"As am I."

* * *

Sasaku and Gaara stood across from each other in the desert just outside the village. Everyone else was standing a ways off to the side. "Make sure you go all out!" Sasaku said, drawing his swords. The cork shot out of the gourd on Gaara's back. The special sand he had in the gourd began to creep out. It lashed at Sasaku, going at him like a snake after a mouse.

He swiped at the sand, but barely deflected it. Sasaku then jumped into the air. "Shadow Style:" he yelled, "Tsukigata Tsuki!" As he brought the swords down, the yellow crescent energy hit the sand, knocking it away. Sasaku darted foreword at Gaara, but a wall of sand shot up between them.

Ishimaru looked at the flowing sand with interest.

Sasaku dove around the sand and began to access some of the Kumori Tora's chakra. With it coming out of the swords, he was able to defend against the sand a little easier. A pillar shot up and twisted around itself before shooting straight at him. Sasaku held his swords in front of him, sending the sand to either side of him.

What bugged Sasaku the most was that Gaara wasn't even moving a muscle. He was just standing there, watching. Then a whole burst of sand jumped up around Sasaku, and began to cave in on him. It collided overhead, leaving him in pitch black as he heard the sound crashing towards him. He shut his eyes and threw his arms up over his head.

The sand exploded, shooting out in every direction. Sasaku cracked his eye opened, then lowered his arms. Standing in front of him, with plain desert sand hovering around him, stood Ishimaru. "What do you think you're doing?!" Sasaku exclaimed.

Ishimaru turned to Sasaku and grinned. "No one said you had to do this alone," he said.

_To be continued..._


	86. Second Tail

"No one said you had to do this alone," Ishimaru said with a grin. Sasaku looked at him in amazement.

"Thank you," he said. He then jumped over Ishimaru at Gaara. Ishimaru followed with a run. A barrage of sand shot at them. Sasaku deflected it, and Ishimaru began collecting it into walls on the left and right sides of him. Sasaku appeared behind Gaara, and Ishimaru in front of him.

Sasaku slashed his swords, and Ishimaru fired off the walls at Gaara. The sand barrier stopped them both. With a swift wave of his arms, Ishimaru made the barrier move out of the way. Gaara turned in surprise to see Sasaku swinging the blades at him. A layer of sand just barely caught the sword. Sasaku tried to pull it out, but the sand had hold of it.

Gaara waved a hand at Sasaku, sending a blast of sand at him. But then the sand froze in midair. Ishimaru and Gaara both fought against each other's manipulation. Ishimaru kicked his foot, sending a small wave of sand flying into Gaaras face. Then the sand released the Kumori Tora and the floating shot of sand dropped. Sasaku jumped back and made the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako.

He then leapt foreword and slashed at Gaara. Because Ishimaru was fighting Gaaras sand, only the special sand from his gourd was there to block him. Sasaku made a small cut in Gaaras cheek, and then a blast of sand hit Sasaku in the stomach, sending him flying back. The sand wrapped around Sasaku's legs, then stopped when it had slightly tightened.

Ishimaru and Gaara both had their hands extended towards Sasaku, making opposite motions. Then Gaara shot off a wave of sand. Ishimaru countered it, and the sand around Sasaku's legs tightened. Sasaku watched as Ishimaru and Gaara traded off attacks, and the sand tightened and loosened around Sasaku's legs.

Then Sasaku nodded to Ishimaru, and Ishimaru released, allowing the sand to cover Sasaku's body. "Sand Burial!" Gaara said. The sand imploded on itself. But then Sasaku jumped out from under Gaara unharmed, and punched him up in the jaw. Sasaku slashed at Gaara's sand barrier constantly, hardly leaving Gaara a chance to counter.

Ishimaru kept all the sand around Sasaku flat to the ground so Gaara wouldn't be able to attack him with it. Sasaku made a thrust, and the sand glanced it so it barely passed Gaaras face. The blade cut one of Gaaras hairs. He stared at Sasaku in shock. Then Sasaku thrust again and stuck it through Gaaras chest.

Gaara grabbed the sword, and all the color on his body changed to a grainy color. _Sand clone!_ Sasaku thought as the real Gaara rose from under the sand from a ways away. The clone exploded and wrapped itself around Sasaku, but Ishimaru jumped in and blew the sand in every direction. Gaara stared at Ishimaru.

"Your jutsu," he said, "It's one of the most powerful ones I've seen."

"It's my heritage," Ishimaru replied, "The only thing my blasted father gave me. I never dreamed I'd see another like it." Two blasts of sand shot at each other and twisted around the other. They snaked towards Ishimaru or Gaara, only to be stopped or cut off. Sasaku watched in amazement, wondering how Ishimaru could fare like that against the Kazekage.

Ishimaru was knocked back by one of the sand blasts, and they both fell over him. "Now Sasaku!" Ishimaru yelled. Gaara was completely preoccupied with Ishimaru. The two pillars of sand rammed into Ishimaru, and he let out a shout of pain. Sasaku ran up and slashed right through Gaaras side. Gaara let out a grunt, and Sasaku put the point of the Kumori Tora to Gaaras throat. A minute passed by in silence.

"The Shikaku," Gaara said, "Acknowledges the power of he who holds the traitor. You will be given the tail." Sasaku let out an exclamation and punched his fist into the air. Everyone else grouped around Sasaku and began congratulating him.

"Well," he said, "I couldn't of done it without Kai." He looked around, but Ishimaru was nowhere to be seen. "Kai?" he yelled, "Ishimaru?!" He saw him lying a bloody mess on the ground. Sasaku ran up to him, and kneeled beside him. "We have to get him to a hospital!" he yelled back. Gaara appeared next to him.

"Naruto," he said, "You and Sasuke get him to the hospital now. Everyone else go with them." Naruto and Sasuke grabbed Ishimaru and took off. Everyone but Sasaku went with them. Sasaku prayed he'd be okay, then drew the Kumori Tora and Demon Sword and stuck them into the ground between him and Gaara.

"Let's hurry and do this," he said. Gaara nodded and made a hand sign. Sasaku made the same one, and then the sand around them began to shift. A giant tail made of sand shot up and hovered over them. It changed, and the sand began falling off, revealing a white tigers tail with red stripes. Sasaku wondered why it was white and not black.

The tail then turned into a sphere of energy and shot into the swords. They shifted, and changed into a bo staff for a second before changing back into the swords. Sasaku walked up to the swords and picked them up. There was a new red slash mark on the Kumori Tora, crossing the first one. He sheathed the sword, and felt the new chakra envelop him.

* * *

Sasaku walked into the hospital room. Everyone was gathered around Ishimaru's bed. He smiled weakly at Sasaku. "You got the tail?" he asked. Sasaku nodded.

"I'm not ungrateful," he said, "But this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't helped."

"I had to," Ishimaru said, "You might not have lived."

"And you wouldn't have to suffer."

"You told Ino you wouldn't leave her without saying goodbye first. Last I checked, you never said goodbye." This amazed Sasaku. A tear formed in the corner of his eye, but he blinked it out.

"Thank you," he said, "As soon as you recover, I'll make sure that what you did doesn't go to waste." Ishimaru laughed.

"Recover?" he said, "My ribcage is shattered. I've lost the use of my left arm and leg. Half my organs were crushed. I'm not going to be able to live through this. Don't wait for me."

"No! Don't say that," Karei said, "You can make it through this!" Ishimaru shook his head.

"Sayonara..." he muttered, clenching his fist. His arm began to get petrified, moving upwards towards the main part of his body.

"Don't do this Ishimaru!" Sasaku shouted, "You can make it through this!" Ishimaru closed his eyes and smiled, as his self-petrifaction crept across his face. He lay there, a peaceful looking stone statue. Karei began crying over Ishimaru's body, and Sasaku put a hand on her shoulder. Everyone stared gravely at Ishimaru.

_So many deaths,_ Sasaku thought, _Directly or indirectly, Suzaku is the cause of this all. He has to be stopped, quickly, no matter what!_

_To be continued..._


	87. Ichigo

_I'm actually starting to wonder if it's worth it. To be a shinobi, to live life with dangers at every turn, and death with every step. The ones I love, the place I love, the things I love... all torn away from me... by him. The village has become my enemy, though I have not committed the crime. No one has had to endure what I have had to endure. Why me? Why me? Why...?_

* * *

Ichigo sat on his balcony, staring out into the stars. _It just couldn't have been him,_ he thought, _Why would Sasaku do such a thing? But it must have been him. He's smart enough to have planned this out while making himself look like a hero. But why would he have done that?! Did I do something? Was it because of dad?_

He'd been having this argument with himself since the day Sasaku was cast out of the village. Every moment, he wondered whether it was Sasaku, or Suzaku. He'd not gotten any work done, nor a wink of sleep. He'd never found the motivation to shave, and rough stubble had grown on his cheeks and around his mouth. His eyes had heavy bags under them.

"Can't sleep?" Kira asked, sitting next to him, putting her arm around him. He shook his head.

"I worry about my brother," he said, "I don't want to blame him, but at the same time, I think he may have done it."

"Would you really doubt your brother so much that you would say he murdered Tsunade?" Ichigo turned to her quickly.

"Of course not!" he said, "He would never..." He paused and thought to himself. "You're right. I never doubted him. It's just, there are to many things going on at once. Sasaku may not have murdered her, but that doesn't mean Suzaku did." He fell silent for a moment.

"Suzaku asked to meet with you in the morning," Kira said, "Maybe you can clear things up then." Ichigo nodded. He kissed Kira on the forehead.

"I hope I can convince him Sasaku isn't to blame," he said.

* * *

Ichigo stepped into Suzaku's office. "You wanted to see me?" he asked. Suzaku looked up from his papers and removed his reading glasses.

"Ah," Suzaku said, "Enkou Ichigo. It's a privilege to meet the brother of Sasaku. I asked for your wife to come, did you bring her?" Ichigo shook his head.

"She had something else to do," he said, "But she can come in later this afternoon."

"Good," Suzaku said, "Since the death of the Fifth Hokage I've decided to meet with each of the villagers and offer my help to them."

"Sasaku didn't murder the Fifth Hokage," Ichigo blurted, "I don't have any proof, I just know it." A strange grin crossed Suzaku's face. He began to laugh.

"I know dang well your brother didn't murder the Fifth!" Suzaku said, "I did!" Ichigo stared at Suzaku in horror, then jumped up and went for the door. Ryu and Itachi cut him off. Ichigo turned back to Suzaku, scowling. Suzaku stood and began pacing the room towards Ichigo.

"Why did you do this?" he asked.

"Power," Suzaku said, "The power to destroy the Leaf Village, the ones responsible for the death of my father!"

"But that wasn't the village," Ichigo argued, "That was the Nine-Tailed Fox!"

"Which is now sealed inside the last person I care about!" Suzaku said, "I cannot blame Naruto for what happened, only those that forced my father to die for the village!"

"Your father chose to die for the village!"

"Which never would have been a problem had someone else come before him!" Suzaku paused. "The village council and the Third Hokage chose my father to lead the village, knowing that something could happen to him. Knowing that something could kill him or take him away from me."

"Your father knew the risks just as well. He chose to lead, and he chose to die!" Suzaku struck Ichigo across the face with the back of his hand. Ichigo stumbled back, then turned back and stared at Suzaku with a small drip of blood on the corner of his mouth. Ichigo wiped it off, and proceeded to walk out the door.

Ryu grabbed his shirt and pushed him back. Ichigo kicked Ryu across the face, knocking him into a bookshelf. Itachi came in to attack him, but Ichigo grabbed Itachi's arm and threw him over his shoulder. "You think my brother's the only one with the natural talent?!" Ichigo shouted.

He turned to Suzaku. His eyes had the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako. Suzaku smiled. "Well," he said, "This is the Enkou family at it's worst?"

"Even it's worst could beat you!" Ichigo spat, jumping foreword. Suzaku pushed his elbow into Ichigos chest, shattering the bones. Ichigo fell foreword and coughed up blood onto the floor.

"Not even the best of the Enkous stand a chance," Suzaku said, weaving four hand signs. He struck his palm to Ichigo's head. A mark appeared, then smoked and faded. Ichigo collapsed sideways. "Third time today," Suzaku said, "And I'm still not tired. I love this mind washing jutsu!" He then looked at Ichigo. "Clean him up for me, will you Itachi?"

Itachi picked up Ichigo and walked out with him. Suzaku went back to the table and sat down. He put his glasses back on, and looked over the papers. "And that," Suzaku said, "Makes one hundred and sixty eight villagers my loyal servants." He marked off something on the paper. "Did you find out who all went with Sasaku?"

Ryu nodded and pulled out a sheet of paper. He handed it to Suzaku, who looked it over carefully. He set the paper down. "So we've got Itachi's brother, my brother, and our new friends brother," Suzaku joked, "All in one little caravan."

"Spies report that they were last seen in the Hidden Sand Village," Ryu reported. Suzaku raised an eyebrow. "Specifically," he continued, "They were reported as a bunch of kids from Konoha, lead by a rouge leaf ninja."

"Rouge leaf ninja?"

"I take it Sasaku considers himself an enemy of the village, and wishes to prove it."

"Why were they in Suna?"

"The went straight to the Kazekage and Sasaku fought him."

"Really now?" Suzaku said, intrigued, "Who won?

"Sasaku, but at the death of the Ishimaru kid. I have some footage where you can see the sand in the distance taken by cameras at the gate to the village, if you would like it."

"Document it and save it. Then I want you to follow them and find out what they're up to."

"Yessir!" Ryu said, vanishing.

_To be continued..._


	88. Deidara and Sasori

Sasaku and the rest of them were walking through the desert heading north. There was a major sandstorm blowing. Sasaku had pulled the goggles from his neck over his eyes, and was leading the group. As he peered into the distance, he saw only the same grainy brown landscape. He then noticed something right in front of him on the ground.

"Footprints..." he muttered, "Hey guys! Someone's been here!"

"Which way are they going?" Sasuke asked.

"They're making an angled path towards the Sand Village," Sasaku replied.

"Do we have to go back?" Naruto said, "I mean, wouldn't that mean we just wasted our time walking this way?"

"They were only here a short while ago," Sasaku said, "Or the sandstorm would have blown the prints away. We'll just find them and ask them where the nearest town is."

"Sounds good to me," Karei said, "Let's go!" She then began running.

"Um, Karei," Sasaku said, "They went the other way." Karei stopped and turned to them.

"Right. I knew that..." she said scratching the back of her head. Sasaku smiled and shook his head, then began walking in the direction of the footprints at a brisk pace. It wasn't long until he saw two figures in the distance. He couldn't make out any features yet, but before long, he could see the two of them just a little better. They both wore black cloaks with red clouds. One had short spiky red-brown hair, and the other... Sasaku's eyes widened.

"Ino!" he shouted, "It's Ino!" The two figures obviously didn't hear him, and continued walking. Sasaku ran past everyone else and towards the blonde one that looked like Ino. He threw his arms around the figure. "Ino!" he shouted with joy, "How'd you escape?"

"What the-?!" came a boys voice from the figure Sasaku was hugging, "Get off me!" Sasaku was surprised and jumped off and away from the figure. He turned to Sasaku. His hair did look like Ino's, with the front covering the left side of his face. His eye was blue, with a large pupil.

The other boy turned as well. He had the short spiky red hair, and a young looking face. His eyes were a chocolate brown color. The two looked at Sasaku curiously. "Sasori-sama," the blonde said, "He has the ten-tails, un."

"Well then," Sasori said, "I'll proceed to the one tail, you get this one, Deidara." Sasori turned away and continued walking.

"Sorry," Sasaku said, "I thought you were someone else. It's kinda hard to see in this storm."

"Yeah, that's great," Deidara said, "Now hand over the swords, un!" The sudden statement surprised Sasaku. He put a hand on the handle of the Kumori Tora.

"What for?" Sasaku asked.

"You ever heard of the Akatsuki?" Deidara replied with a chuckle. Sasaku whipped out the swords and held the tip of the Demon Sword to Deidara's throat.

"Sasaku?" Karei called, "What's going on?" They began wandering in his general direction. Deidara grinned. He came in as if to punch Sasaku, but the swords suddenly became one long bo staff, which Sasaku used to knock away Deidara's hand. He then hit Deidara in the stomach with the butt of the staff.

Deidara stumbled back, then vanished in the sand storm. Sasaku looked around, searching everywhere. He saw someone jump at him, and hit the person in the head with the staff. "Gah!" he heard the person shout, before falling over. Sasaku bent over the body, and saw that it was Naruto.

"Oops," he muttered. Then Deidara appeared next to him.

"I'm afraid this is neither the time, nor the place," he said, "We'll be watching, un." Deidara then set something down on the ground. He vanished, and the object blew up, sending Sasaku twirling backwards. A wave of sand buried him. He pulled himself up, and spat dirt out of his mouth. The sand storm began to subside.

All around, everyone was digging themselves out of the sand. "What was that?" Sakura asked. Sasaku stared into the distance.

"I think this just became a lot more challenging," he said, "There's a whole new team that just joined this game." Sasuke ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Akatsuki," he muttered, "I'd recognize those cloaks anywhere. And now that they know that the tenth tailed beast is out wandering the world, what makes you think they'll leave you alone."

"This could be to our advantage," Sasaku said after a minute, "Think about it, we could use them as a source for information. If we could get one of them captured, then we could find the Jinchuuriki easily."

"And how do you suppose that we capture a member of the Akatsuki?!" Karei asked, "We're a couple a Chunnin, a Jounin, and an Anbu! We're not bounty hunters, nor do we have the experience to fight the Akatsuki."

"You're right," Sasaku said, "Stupid idea. But then how are we supposed to find these demons?" Everyone began thinking, and then everyone seemed to get the same idea. "I got it," he said.

"Don't say it..." Naruto muttered.

"It's going to be hard, but it's the easiest way."

"Don't say it..."

"Let's split up!" Naruto punched the top of Sasaku's head.

"I told you not to say it!" he shouted, "How is splitting up going to help?!"

"I don't want to put anyone else in danger," Sasaku said, "I don't want anyone else dying like Ishimaru did."

"On top of that," Sakura said, "We'd be able to find the Jinchuuriki better. Since there'll be more of us in more areas, we'll get to them a lot faster."

"Right," Sasaku replied, "We'll get to a town tonight, make the plans, and in the morning we each go our separate ways."

"Something bad always happens when people split up..." Naruto said, but no one paid him any heed.

"We better get going then," Sasuke said, "The sun will be down in an hour. Let's hit the nearest town and bunk. Then we can discuss this further." Sasaku nodded, and began leading the way again.

_To be continued..._


	89. Ryu's Offer

Sasaku woke up from his ever so faint sleep. It was still dark outside, and everyone else rested in their beds. Sasaku stood and put on all his clothes. He scribbled a note on a piece of paper and taped it to the door. He knew no one would approve of him leaving on his own, but he had to do this. He couldn't endanger anyone else.

He'd told them in the note to continue looking for the demon hosts. Then they were to find him and tell him, before continuing on their search for the others. He didn't know how they'd find him, he only knew they had to. If he was ever going to do this, he had to do it alone. Naruto tossed in his sleep. "Pass the curry will ya..." he muttered.

Sasaku smiled and shouldered his pack. He then stepped out the door, and began to walk away from his friends, the ones he held near and dear to him. He hated to abandon them, and found a new reason not to with each step. His determination pushed him onwards, until, around noon, he found himself only a few kilometers from the Rain Village.

His stomach growled, so he stopped in the next town he landed in. He walked into a bar and sat down at one of the tables. As he was served his food, he began looking around. The place he was in was a tad on the poor side, but it wasn't bad. Sort of like the place he used to go to back at home. He took a large swig of his drink, and noticed Ryu walking into the bar.

Without saying a word, Ryu came in and sat across from Sasaku. Sasaku leaned back with a slight grin on his face and stared at Ryu, right in the eyes. Ryu stared back, unwavering, the lower part of his face hidden by his scarf. The two sat staring at each other for hours. Sasaku stared, not moving his gaze, his smile still on his lips.

"You're very hard to find," Ryu said.

"I try to keep a low profile."

"After that run in with the Akatsuki, I don't think that will be very easy."

"What do you want with me? You've fought me, you've beat me, and you put me through a living Hell. Is there something you forgot?"

"You made a stupid decision recently." Sasaku raised an eyebrow.

"I do stupid things all the time," Sasaku said, "Enlighten me."

"Going to face all of the demon hosts. The Akatsuki on your tail. And you with no allies. I'd think you would be smarter than that, Enkou Sasaku."

"I left them to save them. They'd die if they stayed with me."

"Even so, you and I share a common enemy."

"Oh?"

"The Akatsuki. I want to destroy them. They seem to be attracted to the tailed beasts, and since you hold the Juubi, the Akatsuki will be after you like flies to discarded meat."

"So you want to follow me?"

"If you think about it, I'd be protecting you."

"I heard you were with Suzaku? He wants me dead, doesn't he?" Ryu bowed his head and chuckled.

"So naive you are," he said, "I side with no one, I only fight my enemies, and if I get some assistance while doing so, then so be it."

"Are you protecting me or using me? Because I'd say you're using me. You want to find the Akatsuki, they want to find me. You may be strong, but not strong enough to fight them on your own, so you come to me for help." Ryu remained silent. "Your offer is tempting, but I need to know your true motives."

"My true motives are my own business."

"You said you need my help though..." Sasaku taunted. Ryu stood up.

"I need no ones help," he said, "Just don't be surprised if I show up at the same time as those Akatsuki." Sasaku grinned. Ryu walked out of the bar, and Sasaku stared out after him.

"Tch," he said, "Please, if I needed your help I'd ask for it!" He looked into the liquid in his glass. Then he sighed. "I'm so stubborn," he muttered to himself, "Why can't I just admit that I need his help?" _Because of what he did to you._ "But he meant no harm this time." _He caused you to go into a rampage that killed your sensei._ "But it looks like that wasn't his doing. If he really had something against me, then he'd have killed me right then and there."

_**Listen to yourself!**_ came the unexpected shout of the Kumori Tora, _**Your finding excuses! I can help you, but so can he! I'd take up his offer if he were to make it again.**_ The Kumori Tora pulled away, and Sasaku began thinking to himself. Then his waitress came up and put the bill on his table. He picked it up and scanned it. His eye twitched.

"You've gotta be effing me!"

* * *

"He turned down the offer Suzaku-sama."

"Follow him anyways!" Suzaku yelled into the radio on his desk, "I want you to make sure he doesn't die or run off!"

"I'm sure that he would not run away, Suzaku-sama," Ryu's voice said over the connection. Suzaku growled.

"I don't care if you have to put him in a cage and carry him on your back!" Suzaku yelled, "But if the Akatsuki get to him first, the plan's ruined! And then it'll be your head!"

"Yes," Ryu said, "I understand. I will protect Sasaku with my life."

"Not with your life you idiot!" Suzaku said, "If Sasaku doesn't make it, you're my backup plan!"

"And why would I be your backup plan?"

"If you were, then I would put the Akatsuki at top priority! Listen, if you screw this up-!" There was a knock on Suzaku's door. "Look, if you screw this up," he said much quieter, "Then this will set things way back. Don't let that happen," then in a louder voice, "Come in!"

Kakashi walked into the room. "You wanted to see me?" he said lazily. Suzaku grinned.

_Five hundred ninety eight..._ Suzaku thought to himself.

_To be continued..._


	90. Ami

_ Wandering aimlessly for a week, hoping that you'll get lucky... Tch, that's what I've been doing. I took a stop in the Stone Village, but apparently they'd made a truce with Suzaku and I'm a wanted criminal there too. At the risk of anyone else wanting me, I've decided to avoid the major villages. Right now I'm in a town a bit of a way from the Waterfall Village._

_ I've got a bad feeling in the pit of my gut about this one. That Ryu guy has been following me ever since we made contact, and he hasn't even tried to lay low. I've just been ignoring him, but I guess he's determined. And there are others too. They follow me in the day, and are gone at night, when I expect them to attack me. It's all very peculiar to me..._

* * *

There was the sound of a branch breaking. Sasaku's eyes opened from his sleep. He sat in a high tree, on the top branch. The wind swayed the tree, and he felt it move under him. A branch cracked again, and Sasaku lifted his hand and caught a kunai heading for him. He then threw it back in the direction it came, this time with a paper bomb.

The kunai was lost in the trees, and exploded. Sasaku waited for another moment. Then a shuriken launched itself from a tree at about a forty-degree angle from the last spot. _Whoever it is they sure can move,_ he thought as he blocked this one with the metal plate on his glove. Then another kunai came straight from behind him. He grabbed the handle with his hand behind his head just as it was about to hit.

He turned on his Tomokenzan Kagamimanako. There was one person, and they were moving very fast, probably the fastest he'd ever seen. They we're suddenly next to Sasaku and had thrown a punch at him. He caught the fist, but before he could make his move, they appeared behind him and tried to kick him. He ducked under it and hit them in the jaw.

The ninja fell back and stuck to the side of a nearby tree. They had a mask over their face, and short blue hair. The headband was a red Waterfall band. The back of it was tied with one end significantly longer than the other. The hair had been done so that the left side covered part of the headband and the right side was tucked under it. Sasaku's eye twitched.

_My one weakness exploited..._ he thought, _Someone figured out I had OCD..._ The ninja also wore a white sleeveless shirt and red pants. They had a thin black choker around their neck. The ninja jumped at Sasaku and glanced him as he parried their attack. The ninja went spiraling into another tree.

"Come on," Sasaku called, "You fight like a girl!" The ninja jumped at Sasaku again and ripped her mask off.

"I am a girl you idiot!" she yelled. Sasaku's eye twitched. She swiped at him again, but he hit her across the face, then grabbed her arm and spun around before letting go, sending her into the ground. She landed in an explosion of dust, creating a crater in the ground. Sasaku landed in front of her.

She lifted her head to look at Sasaku, and he put the tip of the Kumori Tora to her throat. "May I help you?" he asked. She growled at him. Ryu dropped from the sky a few feet away.

"Ami," he said in his usual monotone, "What are you doing here?" Sasaku looked to Ryu.

"You know this crazy chick?" Sasaku said. Ami lifted her foot and put it right where it hurt. Sasaku fell to the ground and Ami began to run off. Ryu grabbed her arm and pinned it behind her back. He then pinned Ami to the ground. She blushed and made no attempt to move.

"Yeah," Ryu said, "I know her. How she made it past me I'll never know."

"So you're the reason all those people following me just vanished?" Sasaku asked, "You know, you're not all that stealthy yourself."

"I don't need to be when you aren't my enemy."

"True," Sasaku said. Then he directed his attention to Ami. "So what do you want?"

"That is classified information from the Hidden Waterfall Village," she said.

"Looks like Suzaku got to them too," Ryu said letting go of Ami, "You're wanted everywhere." Sasaku rubbed his temples.

"Ami," he said, "Go back to your village. You wouldn't last a second against me."

"Please," she replied, "I'm one of the most skilled kunoichi in all-" The next thing she knew Sasaku was behind her with both swords crossing her throat. He pressed the cool obsidian against her skin.

"Dead," he said. He then turned away and sheathed the swords. Ami turned to him with a surprised look on her face.

"H-how," she stuttered, "How did you-?"

"Lots of training and a motivation to do so," Sasaku said, walking away, "Ryu, you coming or what?" Ryu crossed his arms and began to follow. Ami got up and began to follow. After about a mile of walking in silence, Sasaku turned to look at her, still walking. "Yes?" he asked.

"So Ryu," she said, ignoring Sasaku, "It's been eight years. How come you're not excited to see me?"

"Oh, that's just great," Sasaku announced, "Now the kid has a past too!" Ami punched Sasaku on the head.

"C'mon Ryu," she said, "We were, like, best friends before I moved to the Waterfall Village. Will you at least tell me how you've been?"

"Fine," Ryu muttered. They continued walking in silence for another minute.

"That's all?" she said, "There has to be more? How's your family? And what about Amayo, is she doing okay?"

"Great, just what the fic needs," Sasaku muttered, "Another character with teenage girl syndrome." Ami punched him again.

"Look," Ami said, "Could you at least fill me in. Maybe tell me why you're traveling with the idiot runaway?"

"I'm right here you know," Sasaku muttered.

"Ami," Ryu said, "Go back to your village. You don't want to get tangled with my destiny again."

"Of course I do Ryu," Ami said with a smile, "We're best friends, and nothing will change that!" She extended her hand with the pinky extended. She then closed her eyes and smiled at Ryu. He turned away and began walking again. "Huh?" Ami exclaimed, "That's it?! Ryu wait up!" She began running after him.

"Dude..." Sasaku said, "That was cold even for you..."

_To be continued..._


	91. Different Paths

**Why is every great character in anime emo?! R&R!**

Sasaku, Ryu, and Ami were walking on a path heading east, angled just past the Sound Village. Ami was constantly trying to start a conversation with Ryu, and Sasaku was about ready to claw his ears off. "So what are you doing with the Traitor of the Leaf Village?" Ami asked for about the fifth time.

"That's it!" Sasaku yelled, "Look lady, I'm not a traitor! The Village is corrupt!"

"How can the Leaf Village be corrupt?" Ami said laughing.

"When there's a change of governmental power," Sasaku said, stopping, "When the new Hokage is an incompetent, self centered..."

* * *

Suzaku watched as his last victim walked out of the room. He let out a loud sneeze. "Erm," Itachi said, "Gesundheit." Suzaku wiped his nose with his finger.

"Why do I get the feeling," Suzaku said, "That I need to kill someone?"

* * *

"... Immature, undereducated, creep!" Sasaku finished. Ami stared at him wide eyed, and Ryu just blinked. Sasaku stood panting, then regained his composure and leaned against a tree. "Suzaku, the Sixth Hokage," Sasaku said, "Killed the Hokage and took the position for himself, then blamed the whole thing on me."

"And where is your proof," Ami said, "Lord Suzaku says that all evi-"

"Ignore the freakin' evidence for one moment!" Sasaku said, "Let's face other facts! Suzaku disappears in the Sound Village for a year without ever contacting the Leaf Village. What was he doing in the Village anyways?! It shouldn't take that long to restore order! Then the day after he returns, Lady Tsunade is murdered. Explain that!"

"Erm," Ami said, "Well..."

"Well Sasaku's right," Ryu said.

"Stay out of this!" Sasaku shouted, "Wait, what?"

"Suzaku murdered Lady Tsunade," Ryu said, "And is brainwashing the people of the village."

'Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sasaku said, "He's what now?!"

"How do I know you guys aren't lying?" Ami said.

"You're gonna have to trust me," Ryu replied.

"What did you say about brainwashing?!" Sasaku shouted.

Ami looked Ryu straight in the eyes. "I trust you," she said. Ryu nodded, then continued walking again. "Wait, Ryu!" she said, "Where are you going?!" She began to run after Ryu. Sasaku looked to the ground.

"Brainwashing huh?" he muttered to himself. Then he ran after Ryu and Ami.

* * *

"Sasaku told us to find him if we had any information," Naruto said, "To find him and tell him." He pulled his hair and banged his head on the table in front of him in frustration. "How are we supposed to find him if we don't know where he even went to begin with?!?"

"Oh grow up Naruto," Sakura said, "I swear, sometimes you just need to be patient."

"How am I supposed to be patient?!" Naruto exclaimed, "For all we know he could be on the other side of the continent right now!"

"Don't worry about it, we'll find him." Naruto planted his face on the table.

"How?!" he said, "We don't know where he is or what he's doing! He could be dead for all we know!"

"Sasaku?"

Naruto was silent for a minute. "Okay, he couldn't be dead. But still, where in the name of all that is ninja is he?!"

"Jeez Naruto, you really do say some weird stuff."

"I'm just sayin', we need to find Sasaku soon. We know where the second tailed beast is, now we just need to let Sasaku know!"

"Don't rush yourself Naruto, she's not going anywhere..." Naruto growled and crossed his arms, looking towards the ceiling.

* * *

Sasuke hid himself among the trees outside the Leaf Village. _What is my brother doing with Suzaku?_ he thought. Then he shook off the question. _No,_ he thought, _I should just be glad that now I'll be able to find him easier._ He jumped into the village and hid himself on the roof. About half the people that were usually there walked the streets.

As Sasuke wondered what was going on, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see Kakashi standing there. "Kakashi-sensei," he said. Kakashi gave no response. All the color had left his eyes. He stood staring blankly at Sasuke. _Something's not right..._ Kakashi hit a button on the radio in his ear.

"I've found one of them," he said, "Uchiha Sasuke." Instantly, there were about six ninja surrounding him. Sasuke swore and pulled out one of his Demon Wind Shuriken. The Ninja didn't do anything, just stared at him. He eyed them carefully. Nothing happened for a long while. They were just waiting for him to do something. Finally, after a long while, Suzaku dropped onto the building.

"Well, well, well," he said, "If it isn't my little Sasuke. You know, we've been wondering about you this whole time. Decided to join us, or are you going to join the rest of them." He made a motion to all of the brainwashed shinobi. "Well, what is it?"

"Itachi," Sasuke said. Suzaku stepped back and smiled.

"Man, I fell so sorry for you Sasuke," he said, turning his body, "tell you what, I'll let you go this time, and you can come back when you might stand a chance against your brother." Sasuke growled and ran at Suzaku, who kicked Sasuke in the ribs and threw him down to the street below. Some of the people gasped and made other notions they'd seen him, but others just continued walking.

Suzaku jumped down with Sasuke. "Suzaku-sama," came Itachi's voice. He then appeared next to Suzaku, wearing a disguise. "Suzaku," he said, "If I may, why don't we allow my brother this chance?" Suzaku sighed, then motioned for everyone to leave the area. Once it had been cleared out, Suzaku stuck a finger to Itachi's chest.

"You mess this up," he said, "And you're dead." Suzaku then began walking away. Itachi forgo his disguise and looked Sasuke straight in the eyes.

"Brother," he said, "If you really wish to kill me, then by all means, try." Sasuke growled and stood up.

"Don't cal me your brother!" he yelled.

_To be continued..._


	92. Brothers Reunion

Sasaku, Ryu, and Ami were all sitting in a restaurant. Sasaku glared at Ami, who was staring at Ryu, who was looking at the wall. "Who even gave you permission to come with us?" Sasaku asked. Ami looked to him.

"I want to help out Ryu," she said. Sasaku sighed.

"Ryu," he said, "Conference. Now." He and Ryu stood and walked out of the restaurant. "Look," Sasaku said, "I don't mind if you come along, but what are we doing letting her follow us? In fact, who the heck is she to you?"

"She was an old friend," Ryu said, "Back in my old home town. She moved when she was about seven. It's nothing more than that." Sasaku scratched his chin.

"Could she help us?" he asked.

"I'll talk to her," Ryu said, "I'll determine if she can go with us." Sasaku nodded, and Ryu went back in. Sasaku put his hands behind his head and leaned against a wall.

"Hey!" called Naruto's voice, "Hey! Sasaku!" Sasaku cracked and eye open and saw the blonde ninja running towards him. He stood up and smiled at him. Naruto made it to Sasaku, then bent over panting. After a minute he stood up and grinned at Sasaku. "Finally found ya," he said, "Me and Sakura have been looking for you forever!"

"So I take it you found something?" Sasaku asked. Naruto nodded.

"We found the second tailed beast," he said, "Her name is..." he scratched his cheek, "Actually, I don't really remember her name or anything." Sasaku sighed.

"Naruto you idiot..."

"Hey," Naruto said, "But I remember that she's in the Cloud Village."

"Cloud Village huh...?"

"Hold on! I'll go grab Sakura, she'll know her name!" And with that, Naruto ran off. Sasaku stared after him for a second, then ran back into the restaurant. Ryu and Ami were still talking.

"Okay she can come," Sasaku said, "We gotta get to the Cloud Village!"

"You've found the next one?" Ryu asked. Sasaku nodded, and Ryu stood. The three of them ran out of the restaurant and began running down the street, out of the town. Naruto soon appeared in front of the restaurant with Sakura at his heels. He looked around everywhere.

"Naruto are you sure you talked to Sasaku?" Sakura asked.

"Positive!" Naruto said, looking around, "He was right, here!" Sakura sighed.

"You have to stop imagining things Naruto," she said, "It's getting real old, real fast." Naruto sighed in frustration. Sakura began walking away from the area, and Naruto followed moodily.

* * *

Sasuke and Itachi stared at each other from across the street in Konoha. They had both turned on the Sharingan, and had their weapons drawn. Sasuke fired a shuriken at Itachi, but Itachi jumped over it and dove at Sasuke. There was a ring of steel as the two collided in midair.

Sasuke turned around to face his brother and made four hand signs. "Fire Style:" he yelled, "Dragon Fire Jutsu!" The white-hot flames shot at Itachi, who made a hand sign and performed another jutsu. The Dragon Fire burst around Itachi, and destroyed the building behind him. Then an invisible energy struck Sasuke, sending him flying back through the wall behind him.

Sasuke stood up in the rubble, and sprinted at Itachi. He punched at him, but Itachi lazily dodged it. Then Sasuke ripped at him with a raging Chidori. Itachi caught Sasuke's arm. "Remember this?" Itachi said, thrusting up his other hand, breaking Sasuke's arm. Sasuke grinned.

"Oh yeah," he said, before he was engulfed in a cloud of smoke. A log stood in Sasuke's place, and the real Sasuke kicked Itachi into the air. Itachi let out a quick gasp, before Sasuke kicked him in the side. He then kicked him in the other side, and grabbed Itachi and threw him to the ground. "Lions Barrage!" he yelled, landing a dropping axe kick to Itachi's stomach.

Wood splintered under his foot as the kick connected with the substitution. Itachi came from behind and kicked out Sasuke's legs. "You little weasel!" Sasuke said, using the backwards momentum to kick Itachi in the face. The then grabbed Itachi's shoulders and flung him into the wall behind him.

Itachi landed on the wall, then brought his feet together and jumped at Sasuke, hitting him in the jaw. This sent Sasuke sprawling down the street, into the wall of Ichiraku. Itachi jumped at Sasuke again and tried to land a kick on him. Sasuke ducked and rolled out of the way, and hit Itachi with another Dragon Fire.

Then Sasuke jumped into the air and made some more hand signs. "Fire Style:" he yelled, "Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" A barrage of fireballs shot at Itachi, but he jumped out of the way, catching multiple buildings on fire. Itachi and Sasuke both made rapid hand signs, each of their kata's ending with tiger. "Fire Style:" the two of them called.

"Blaze of Glory!" Sasuke yelled.

"Hellfire!" Itachi shouted. The two flames, one a blinding white and the other a molten black, smashed into each other. As the two flames fought, they made a rainbow of colors flash and burst in every direction. The street under the collision became scorched with heat, and a nearby pile of logs incinerated. A straw thatched roof caught fire, which began to spread over a good portion of Konoha.

Finally, Sasuke was forced to end his torrent and jumped up away from Itachi's Hellfire. Itachi jumped after him, and they began to fight on the roofs. Sasuke launched twenty Demon Wind Shuriken that destroyed whatever they hit. One caught Itachi just across the arm. Another was able to put a tear in his Kimono. But none of them did any real damage to anything but the scenery.

Sasuke jumped at Itachi, and tackled him through one window of the Hokage's office. Then Itachi threw Sasuke through the desk and out the other window before following swiftly. Suzaku stared blankly at the man he was in a meeting with. "Um," he said, "Sorry 'bout that. Idn't it just amazing the kind of help you can find these days?" The man watched as Sasuke and Itachi continued to fight over the roof of the Academy.

Suzaku sighed and walked up to the man. He then struck the man in the forehead with the brainwashing jutsu. As the man limped over to the side, Suzaku turned to look at Sasuke and Itachi and growled. Then he sighed and lowered his head. "I hope Itachi has the cash to fix this..."

_To be continued..._


	93. Losing the Lost

Sasaku trudged along the path towards the Cloud Village. Ryu and Ami followed, Ami still continuing to try to talk to Ryu, despite his obvious annoyance. Sasaku muttered something to himself, then pulled a pair of ear plugs out of his jacket and put them in. He continued walking until he felt the ground rumble under him. All of them stopped, and were completely silent. Sasaku pulled out the earplugs.

"Did anyone else feel that?" he said. Instantly, someone jumped up from under Sasaku's feet, smashing him back. The ninja put a hand on his Kumori Tora, but he backhanded the ninja. Sasaku looked at him, and remembered him as Deidara. "Oh, great," he said, "Just what I need, you Akatsuki losers!"

"Watch it kid," came a familiar voice from behind him. Sasaku turned in shock to see Ishimaru standing there with a grin on his face. He was wearing an Akatsuki cloak. "Shocked?" Ishimaru said, "Why?"

"But I..." Sasaku said, "But I thought... You died..."

"I'm sorry," Ishimaru said, "Do I know you?"

"Don't even joke about stuff like that man."

"Who's joking? I woke up in the Sand Village, with no recollection of my past. My friend Sasori said I was abandoned there, and then he allowed me to join his organization."

"Ishimaru..."

"Is that my name? I've been wondering that much. Well, I guess I could thank you for that, but you still are going to give me the swords."

"Ishimaru we didn't abandon you! You died, you turned yourself to stone! What were we supposed to do?!"

"And you left him that quickly?" Deidara said, "Why, you didn't even-"

"Shut up Deidara," Sasaku said, "Mommy and daddy are talking." Deidara's eye twitched. "Ishimaru," Sasaku continued, "You're our friend. You can't go to the Akatsuki!"

"As far as I'm concerned," Ishimaru said, "I've been in the Akatsuki my whole life. I know who my friends are." Sasaku looked from Ishimaru, to Deidara, to Ryu and Ami. Ryu had drawn his knife and was looking restless. Sasaku's eyes met Ishimaru's again. He extended his hand. "You gonna give me the swords or what?"

"I pick what!" Sasaku said, whipping out the blades. He ran at Ishimaru, and Ryu jumped at Deidara. A wall of solid earth surrounded Ishimaru, stopping Sasaku's swords. Sasaku spun in a circle, smashing a hole through the earth. It was much more difficult now that there were rocks and other things harder then sand. He stabbed at Ishimaru, but the sword was glanced just away from his face. Sasaku was hit in the gut by a large boulder, sending him sprawling back.

"You know what the difference is between you and the other hosts?" Ishimaru asked, "Unlike them, I can kill you and still get the demon!" Then a blast of rocks came at Sasaku from all sides. Sasaku turned on his Byakugan, and then did a quick palm rotation to get rid of the earth. When he stopped, his eyes met Ishimaru's once more. He had changed, he was much less conservative than before, and acted as if he had a calling, like it was his destiny to be in the Akatsuki.

Sasaku crossed his blades. "Shadow Style:" he yelled, "Tsukigata Tsuki!" He slashed down, and a yellow X of crescent energy shot at Ishimaru. He jumped over it, and a layer of earth coated itself just under his feet, allowing him to float. A snake of earth coiled around him, then at the thrust of his arm, shot at Sasaku. He knocked that away with another rotation.

Ryu stabbed at Deidara, barely missing every time. Deidara dodged and taunted Ryu. Then Ryu went down and swiped Deidara's legs out from under him, and was able to get one solid cut on Deidara's back. Deidara grinned and threw a small clay insect onto Ryu's face. It blew up, sending Ryu backwards. "Ryu!" Ami called.

She then appeared behind Deidara and punched him in the stomach. He curled up slightly and grabbed Ami's arm. The mouth on his hand bit her. She smacked him across the face. "Freak!" she yelled. Then Ryu attacked Deidara again. The two began trading blows with Taijutsu. Ryu sent Deidara stumbling sideways, and then made five hand signs.

"Ninja Art:" he said, "Summoning Jutsu!" A loud roar echoed as the all to familiar creature appeared. Sasaku and Ishimaru both turned to look at it. Sasaku began to tremble, and fell to his knees. Deidara stared up at the monster in horror, and Ami fell backwards, mouth agape. The creature was about to stick one of it's spiked legs through Deidara. Ishimaru grinned and appeared in front of it.

He threw up a stone wall which stopped the beast. Then he thrust a giant bolder into its eyes, crushing a good half of them. The creature let out a loud shriek, forcing everyone but Ryu and Ishimaru to cover their ears. Deidara and Ami passed out after a minute. Ishimaru looked at Ryu with a grin, and Ryu returned with an even more serious look than he usually had. Ryu jumped on top of the great beast.

Ryu made seven hand signs. "Ninja Art:" he said, "Reaper's Death!" The creature let out another roar, but this time it was accompanied by a yellow colored liquid being spewed from it's mouth. Ishimaru grabbed Deidara and jumped out of the way. The yellow liquid hit the ground and began to sizzle, as it burned straight through everything it touched. It was an extremely acidic substance.

Ishimaru launched another boulder at the creature, causing it to shriek again. He then looked down to Deidara's limp body he had hooked under one arm. "Well you're useless!" he said. Then a sphere of earth surrounded him. The sphere then spiraled and sunk into the ground, and they were gone. Ryu jumped off the creature, and it began to melt into a little puddle on the ground before disappearing completely.

Ryu walked over to Sasaku, and said nothing. Sasaku was still shaking like a maniac. He tried to calm himself, but wasn't able to get the picture out of his head. Finally, he began thinking of Ino, and that began to cool him down enough. He stood and walked up to Ryu. "If you ever," he said, "Summon that thing again, I'll tear your damn heart out!"

Sasaku then turned away from him. "Tch," Ryu muttered.

_To be continued..._

**Yeah, about the whole creature melting into a little puddle, I think that was my only option. I mean, it's not the kind of creature that would vanish in a poof of smoke, am I right? Besides, Ryu's to cool for the poof of smoke. I'm just saying... R&R!**


	94. Three

_BOOM!_ An explosion rang out in the Leaf Village. _BOOM! BOOM!_ Two more, and Sasuke jumped out of the resulting ball of smoke. Half a neighborhood lay in ruins right now, and a young man was lying in the rubble. Itachi jumped from behind Sasuke and put him in a full nelson hold. He then flipped them both upside down and began plummeting towards the ground.

Sasuke broke contact just before they struck, giving them each just enough time to flip back over and land on their feet. Sasuke ran foreword and tackled Itachi through the wall of one of the burning houses. Itachi kicked Sasuke into the roof, and a small girl cried out from the corner of the room. Sasuke fell to the ground, and the roof began collapsing. Itachi grabbed the girl and dove out of the house.

The girl cried out and ran off to a group of people that had gathered near the Academy. They were yelling out questions on why the fight hadn't been stopped yet. Suzaku appeared to them. "Settle down ladies and gentlemen," he said, "We're just going through some-"

"Hey, stop this things will ya!"

"You're the Hokage, these people are destroying the Village!"

"Where are the ninja that are supposed to keep this from happening?!"

"People!" Suzaku yelled, "I'll take care of all the damages, but right now everyone needs to evacuate to the north gate!" There was a mutter from the crowd. "Get moving!" he commanded, pointing his finger northward. The crowd began to trudge to the gate, where some of the shinobi were herding them, protecting them from some of the surrounding dangers. "I told you not to screw this up..." Suzaku muttered to himself.

Sasuke and Itachi were about to clash again, when Suzaku got between them and grabbed them both. He flung Itachi straight to the ground, and Sasuke through a nearby water tower. Sasuke crashed through and spilled out the other side, as the water poured out and drenched him. He got on all fours, panting.

Suzaku bent down and picked up Itachi. "Do you realize how much damage you've caused?!" he said, "You just gave me a good five months of repair! Do you realize how far back this puts our plans?! We'll be putting every shinobi I've brainwashed on HOUSE REPAIRS!! You and your kid brother are going to wish you were in Hell when I'm through with you!"

Itachi slapped Suzaku's hand off of him. "Well he started it," he muttered. Suzaku roared and began to go on another rant. Sasuke watched as it unfolded, then began to sneak away. _Another time,_ he thought to himself, _Another time, I will kill him!_

"... and so when you go and do something like this...!" Suzaku paused and massaged his temples, "Why are you so...? Gah!" He then turned away began walking towards the group of people.

"Yeah, sorry mom!" Itachi called after him. Suzaku turned and cracked his knuckles. Itachi rolled his eyes and turned the other way, walking to the Hokage mansion.

"And he wonders why I don't like him..." Suzaku muttered under his breath. He then turned away and began walking briskly towards the group of villagers.

* * *

Sasaku stood, swords in front of him, panting. A black chakra surrounded his body, the two tails of the Kumori Tora swinging wildly behind him. A few feet away from him stood a blonde haired girl, with a fading blue chakra surrounding her. Her left arm had blood dripping from the shoulder, and the sleeve was torn to shreds. They stood in a dark underground water system, the foul smelling liquid rushing past their feet.

The blonde girl sighed and bowed her head. "The Nibi admits its defeat to the one who wields the traitor," she said. Sasaku sighed with relief and relaxed, the chakra surrounding him vanishing.

"Thank you Yugito," he said, "You've been a huge help. Do you think you can talk to the Raikage for me?"

"I'll talk to him," Yugito said, "You're intentions seem pure. I only wish you luck in your quest."

"Again, thank you," Sasaku replied, "Now, let's finish what I came here to do." Yugito nodded, and Sasaku stuck his swords into the ground between them. They both backed off a few feet, and then made the same hand sign. A blue chakra swirled around the swords, and then formed a sphere in the air. The sphere took the shape of a tail, and then turned into an all out white tiger tail with red stripes.

_White again?_ Sasaku thought. Then the tail turned into a ball of energy and went into the swords. The swords flashed as spiked knuckles for a second and then back to swords. It calmed, and the light faded, leaving them in the darkness again. Sasaku picked up the swords and sheathed them. "I am truly grateful," he said, "To you and the Nibi."

"Yes," Yugito said, "And now I have to go." And with that, she took off going down the water system. Sasaku stared after her, then turned and began walking in the other direction, then took out the swords. They shifted into the spiked knuckles on his fists.

_Pretty nice,_ he thought, _Can I make a request for what I get next time?_

_**You insult me just asking that,**_ came the reply of the Kumori Tora, _**These are my best work right now. If you can get me more power, I can give you a stronger weapon.**_

___Fair enough, _Sasaku said, shifting the knuckles into the bo staff, and then back into the swords. He noticed a new slash in near the guard. It crossed the first one, parallel to the second one. It was beginning to look like a kanji. Sasaku looked at it, interested in what it could be, then sheathed the sword. He walked up to a latter, and climbed up into the bright sunlight. "Sasaku!" someone shouted. It sounded as if there was a battle going on.

_To be continued..._


	95. Karei's Shock

"Sasaku!" someone shouted through the noises of battle. Sasaku gave his eyes a minute to adjust, and then saw what was going on. He was in a rocky barren valley, with a few trees here and there. Ryu and Ami were fighting with Karei and Hinata. Karei had spotted Sasaku come up, just before Ryu took her to the ground. He had her pinned, and she was struggling to move.

"What the heck are you guys doing?!" Sasaku said, directing it towards Ryu.

"Sorry," Ryu said, "But she attacked us on sight." He inclined his head towards Karei, who looked between the two.

"Did I miss something?" she asked.

"Yeah," Sasaku said, "Me and Ryu sort of teamed up."

"Oh, so instead of letting your friends help you, you let your enemy. Thanks a lot Sasaku, that really helps make sense of all the crap you've pulled!"

"All the crap I've pulled? I left you guys so you wouldn't get hurt!"

"Yeah! Well we didn't want you to get hurt either! We could've helped you!"

"You guys are doing great just finding the tailed beasts for me. I'm sorry, but this is the fastest and safest way to defeat Suzaku." Karei looked down sideways. "Look," Sasaku said, "You just want to tell me what you found out?"

"The third tailed beast," she said, "We were able to find him." Ryu stood up and Karei shook herself off as she stood too.

"No, please, don't stop," came Ishimaru's voice, "Where is that third beast?" Sasaku spun around and saw Ishimaru standing in a nearby tree, a smile on his face, his black cloak billowing in the wind. Deidara stood next to him, with a grin on his face. Ryu drew his knife from the green sheath. Sasaku looked back to Karei. She was staring at Ishimaru in unbelief. Ishimaru caught Karei's eye, and his expression immediately changed. _What the..._ he thought, _I... do I know her...? But how...?_

"Ishimaru!" she yelled, "How are you still alive?!" Ishimaru shook his head and snapped himself out of it. He smiled again.

"I'm sorry," he said, "But I don't believe we've met."

"Don't do this to her Kai," Sasaku muttered under his breath, "Don't make her go through this too!"

"Ishimaru-sempai," Deidara said, "We should probably just get the swords, un."

"Yeah," Ishimaru said, "And a few squashed bugs here and there won't hurt." Ishimaru vanished, and reappeared next to Sasaku, about to thrust a kunai into him. But Ryu was there in a split second, and deflected the kunai. Ishimaru laughed and punched at Ryu, who grabbed the fist and tossed Ishimaru across the rocky terrain they were in. Ishimaru landed and placed his hands on the ground, which began to shoot up around him.

Deidara shot for Sasaku, but Sasaku drew the swords, and they instantly changed into knuckles on his hands. He moved in and punched Deidara across the face. "Geez," Sasaku said, "And they say that I'm just a kid. What's a useless punk like you doing in the Akatsuki?" Deidara growled and threw a small clay bug at Sasaku. "What the h-"

The bug exploded as soon as it made contact. Sasaku flew sideways, and landed with the staff in his hands. Deidara charged in, and Sasaku twirled the staff in a rapid circle. Then he spun it around himself and struck Deidara in the side. Deidara grabbed the staff, and Sasaku changed it back into the swords. He pulled back, and blood spilled from Deidaras hand, along with a small piece of a tongue.

Deidara let out a shout and hid his hand under his armpit. "You bast-!" he began, but Sasaku cut him off and tackled him into the side of the valley. The rocks above began to shake, and a crack appeared in the side of the valley. Sasaku then grabbed Deidara by the hair and threw him into a nearby tree. He vanished in the leaves, and suddenly a small bird shot from the tree straight at Sasaku. It had a slightly lighter color than all the other clay figures. Sasaku swore as it blew up in his face. Ami charged at Deidara and began fighting with him.

Karei stared at Ishimaru as he and Ryu battled. She was happy he was alive, but what had happened to him? She didn't know what to do, seeing her former enemy fighting her friend, who had went to the wrong side, it mixed up so many emotions within her. All this had come to her so fast; she just didn't know who was who anymore. Karei fell to her knees. Hinata ran up to her. "Karei," she said, "Are you okay?" Karei didn't answer, just staring at the ground.

Ishimaru shot a boulder at Ryu, who made rapid hand signs, then opened his mouth and spat the acid from before at the boulder, causing it to disintegrate into a small pebble. Ryu caught the pebble and ground it to dust in his fist. Ishimaru smiled, obviously unimpressed. He lifted his arms, and a shell of stone surrounded Ryu. Ryu swore and made a hand sign. He then held his arms out, and a shockwave of yellow energy shot in every direction. The shell crumbled, and Ishimaru's smile faded.

"Let me show you," Ryu said, "The true power of the Andari clan!" Ryu opened his hand by his face, and the yellow energy appeared in his palm. He closed his fist, and the energy became brighter, and even began to cause the ground to shake. Ryu then spun around and threw the energy at Ishimaru. It hit him square in the chest, knocking Ishimaru back into the side of the valley.

Ryu's eyes went from their usual dullness to wild and bright. Flares of the energy surrounded his body, until it was practically an aura around him. Ryu looked at Ishimaru and shot off another blast of the energy. Ishimaru jumped out of the way of this one, and it left a burnt crater in the side of the valley. Ishimaru swore, then looked to Deidara. It seemed they both had the same idea.

"Sorry," Ishiamru said, "But it's time for us to go!" He put his hands into the air, and brought them down hard. The top of the valley began to fall. Sasaku looked up and swore. He then looked to Ishimaru. "This isn't over," he said, taking off with Deidara. Sasaku growled, and muttered a curse under his breath. As the valley crashed down towards them, Sasaku looked and saw Karei on her knees, still in shock. Hinata was trying to get her up.

"Karei! Move!" Sasaku yelled, running towards her. A large boulder landed next to him as he ran, and then another right in front of him. He turned the swords into knuckles, and focused his chakra into them before punching straight through the rock. He took a moment to pause before he kept running. Karei looked up to him, then to the air, and saw a boulder heading straight for her. She screamed, and there was a crash as the boulder landed. "Karei!" Sasaku yelled.

_To be continued..._


	96. An Offer Refused

There was a crash as the boulder landed right where Karei and Hinata were. Sasaku shielded his eyes from the wave of dust that erupted. "Karei!" he shouted. The other boulders continued falling all around him. Sasaku growled, then turned the knuckles back into swords. "Shadow Style:" he yelled, "Tsukigata Tsuki!" He lashed the swords in every direction, eliminating the rest of the rocks. A cloud of dust fell to them, and Sasaku stood, waiting for the dust to clear. He sheathed the swords, then looked around.

Ami ran up to him. "Where's Ryu?" she asked.

"What?!" Sasaku exclaimed, "Don't tell me he was-" He was cut off when the boulder that landed on Karei and Hinata cracked. It fell into big chunks away from the center, and there stood Hinata and Karei, both standing on the inside of Ryu's yellow aura. The aura disappeared, and Ryu began to walk out of the wreckage. Sasaku stared at him in amazement. A pang of jealousy bit at him. _Maybe he really is stronger than me..._

"Be more careful next time," Ryu said, "And be grateful I wasn't on the other side of this battle." Karei stared after him, then Sasaku straitened up and walked over to her.

"What happened after you left?" Karei asked, "It's so confusing I don't even know who's who anymore."

"Okay," Sasaku said, "It looks like we both have some stories to exchange." He turned his attention to Ryu and Ami. "Hey guys, how about you try to find a place to set up camp nearby." Ryu nodded and began to walk away, and Ami followed swiftly. Sasaku let out a small sigh, then removed his headband. He looked at it in his hands for a minute, the slash across it drawing all his attention.

"How many battles?" he asked himself, "How many betrayals? How many deaths? How many losses? How many do we have to go through before one good thing happens? All this pain, all this suffering, how long do we have to endure it? When is it going to end? Or is it even? Me, Naruto, Karei... how much more of this can we take?

"How many? How much? When? Why?"

* * *

Suzaku sat back in his chair, throwing darts into a dartboard with Sasaku's face on it. He got a bull's-eye, and let out an exclamation. There was a knock on his door. "Come in!" he called, setting the darts on his desk. Itachi walked in, and a man wearing an orange mask walked in after him. He wore and Akatsuki cloak, and had dark hair on the top of his head. His skin was completely hidden from view, and it was impossible to see even the one eye that his mask had an opening for.

"And who might this be?" Suzaku asked, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his fingers. Itachi was about to speak, but the masked man interrupted him.

"Hi," he said, "My name's Tobi! Tobi is a good boy!" Suzaku stared at him blankly.

"I bet he is," he said, "Er, I mean, you are. Now I can see you're from the Akatsuki. Is there a reason you came to see me?" Tobi nodded vigorously. There was a moment of silence. When it became clear Tobi wasn't going to talk, Suzaku said, "So why are you here?"

"The Akatsuki have an offer for you," Tobi said. Suzaku sighed.

"If they're going to ask me to join them again," he said, "The answer is no."

"No," Tobi said, "That's not it."

"So what is it?" Tobi scratched his chin.

"Tobi doesn't remember. But Tobi has a note from leader! Yep!" Tobi began checking everywhere on his person for the note. Suzaku stared at him blankly. He leaned over to Itachi.

"Is it just me or is this guy an idiot?" Suzaku whispered.

"Probably couldn't even spell idiot," Itachi replied.

"Well neither can you."

"S-u-z-a-k-u."

"Wait can you do that again but slower?" Itachi let out a sigh. Tobi finally pulled the note from his pocket.

"Here you go!" Tobi said, extending the note towards Suzaku. Suzaku took it and read it over. He stood and glared at Tobi.

"You've sure got a lot of nerve!" he said, "Tell your leader that I'll do as I please, and if he doesn't like that then he can come here himself and see how long he'll last!"

"Umm," Tobi said, "Can you write that down?"

"Out!" Suzaku shouted, pointing a finger towards the door.

"Yes sir!" Tobi said, "Tobi is a good boy, Tobi listens! Tobi will-"

"OUT!" Tobi scurried out of the room, the door slamming behind him. Suzaku sat back and rubbed his temples. "Those Akatsuki sure do know how to piss me off..." he muttered. Itachi picked up the note and read it over.

"_Suzaku_

_ We know that you are powerful, but so are we. We can destroy you as easily as anyone else, and will if you interfere. However, we both share a similar goal. We seek the same person, but for different reasons. We would like to make an alliance, and wish to rule the Five Nations alongside you. As a pledge of our alliance, we will deliver Sasaku to you, all we ask in return is the ten tailed demon tiger, the Kumori Tora, and it's sister blade, the Demon Sword. If you agree to this alliance, then we can rule the Shinobi Nations, and we will be unstoppable._

_ We await your answer._

_-Pain"_

"The fact that he gave you his name is a sign of great respect for you," Itachi said, "But tell me, what about this makes you so upset."

"They just don't get it," Suzaku said, "I don't just want Sasaku. He has melded his chakra with that of the Kumori Tora. I want his body, and the swords! I don't make alliances with groups who think themselves equal to me. I destroy them! And I thought I made it clear I don't want to rule the Five Great Shinobi Nations. I want to demolish them!" Suzaku stopped, panting. Then he smiled. "See if you can catch our little messenger boy before he leaves."

Itachi nodded and went after Tobi. Suzaku grabbed his pencil and scratched three words on a piece of paper. Then he looked out the window, watching the repairs being made on the village. Tobi walked back in. Suzaku grinned and handed him the note. Tobi looked down at it.

_"Up yours jackass!"_

_To be continued..._

**I'm sorry that I can't stay focused on just one plotline in a chapter, and that I'm constantly switching between Sasaku and Suzaku... and occasionally everyone else... R&R!**


	97. An Escape

_Sasaku stood in the middle of a grassy field full of dandelions. He looked around, and saw Ino standing in the field, a small ways away. Sasaku smiled and called her name, and she smiled and called back. They ran up to each other, and Sasaku caught her in a hug that couldn't have been more loving. Tears reached Sasaku's eyes as he kissed her neck and she buried her face in his chest._

_ "I missed you so much," he said, tightening his embrace. She did the same._

_ "Thank you for coming," she said, "I'm so glad you didn't abandon me."_

_ "I would never abandon you," Sasaku replied, splitting them apart and staring into her eyes. After a moment, he leaned in as if to kiss her, but the ground began to tremble. He shouted, and the ground began to split between them. They grabbed each other's hands, which were slowly pulled apart as well. "Ino!" Sasaku called. He took a few steps back from the edge of the divide, and then ran foreword and jumped it._

_ He landed on the other side, just barely on the edge, and hugged Ino tightly again. The ground suddenly gave way under Sasaku, He slipped and fell down the abyss, but was able to grab onto a root a meter down. "Sasaku!" Ino shouted. She reached down and tried to grab his hand, but it was barely out of her reach. Sasaku swore when he looked down, then looked back up into her eyes. She stared back at him, when suddenly an arm knocked Ino to the side._

_ Sasaku saw a hand reach for him, just within his reach, and he grabbed it. The hand pulled him up, and Sasaku was once again on solid ground. He looked up, and saw it was Suzaku who saved him. "What the-?" Sasaku began. Suzaku grinned._

_ "Well," he said, "It's not like I want you dead." Then he turned to Ino. "You've played your part well," he continued, "But now, I have no use for you." He knocked back Sasaku, then drew the Kumori Tora from Sasaku's waist. Then he began advancing on Ino..._

* * *

With a start, Ino burst upright. She was on her bed, panting. She ran a hand through her hair, and took a drink of the water on the table next to her. She was tired of this, tired of being kept by Suzaku, but what could she do about it. _I'm not just some helpless little girl!_ she thought, _I'm a kunoichi! I don't need to be rescued!_ She looked around the small stone room, and sighed.

_But what am I supposed to do? There's no way I could make it out of here. It's completely solid all the way around._ She looked at all the walls, but couldn't see a single place where there could be an exit. Then she looked to the wall that always moved whenever Suzaku or Itachi came in to bring her food, and ran her fingers all around the edges. She sighed. _Nothing._

She lay back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. There was a small crack in the ceiling she had never noticed before. Curious, she stood up on her bed and touched the crack. On one side was stone, but on the other was wood painted the same color as the stone. Ino scratched at the paint, and saw that a whole square of wood was in the ceiling. She pushed up on it, and it moved out of the way.

There was a very small space up in the place where the wood was. Ino pulled herself up, sticking her head into the opening. Her feet dangled just a few feet above the bed. A box was in the attic-like area. She got the rest of her body in and looked at the box. It was small and wooden, and had a message attached to it. Ino took the message and unfolded it.

_ Use these to get back at that blasted village council. They made me do it, and they deserve to suffer for it._

She folded up the note and slipped it inside her pouch, wondering who could have wrote it. Then she took the wooden box, and slid off the lid. It was a box full of paper bombs. She pulled one out, and stared at it. This was her ticket out.

* * *

_At the same time..._

Sasaku woke up with a start. He had just had the same dream. He ran his fingers through his hair, and stared into the smoldering fire. Ryu sat leaned against a tree, staring up into the stars. "Can't sleep?" he said. Sasaku shook his head. "It's that Ino girl, isn't it?"

"Why don't you get some sleep," Sasaku said, "I'll keep watch for the rest of the night." Ryu nodded and stood, then began walking towards the camp. Sasaku sat down in his place. Ryu glanced back to Sasaku.

"Do you need someone to talk to?" Ryu asked.

Sasaku shook his head. "Thank you," he said, "But I'll be okay. I just need some time to clear my mind." Ryu nodded and lay down. Sasaku stared at the ground as he rested his arm on his knee and crossed the other leg under it. He sighed and wiped a tear from his eye. Then repeated his ninja way over and over, something he would always do to help him regain his composure.

"I will give it my all... to protect my honor... who I am... and what I care for..."

_To be continued..._


	98. Total Control

It was still late in the night. Sasaku strummed on his guitar, and sang quietly to himself.

"Do you ever feel like breaking down?  
Do you ever feel out of place?  
Like somehow you just don't belong  
And no one understands you  
Do you ever want to run away?  
Do you lock yourself in your room  
With the radio on turned up so loud,  
That no one hears you screaming?

No you don't know what it's like  
When nothing feels alright  
You don't know what it's like  
To be like me

To be hurt, to feel lost  
To be left out in the dark  
To be kicked, when you're down  
To feel like you've been pushed around  
To be on the edge of breaking down  
When no one's there to save you  
No you don't know what it's like

Welcome to my life

Do you want to be somebody else?  
Are you sick of feeling so left out?  
Are you desperate to find something more  
Before your life is over?  
Are you stuck inside a world you hate?  
Are you sick of everyone around?  
With their big fake smiles and stupid lies,  
While deep inside you're bleeding

No you don't know what it's like  
When nothing feels alright  
You don't know what it's like  
To be like me

To be hurt, to feel lost  
To be left out in the dark  
To be kicked, when you're down  
To feel like you've been pushed around  
To be on the edge of breaking down  
When no one's there to save you  
No you don't know what it's like

Welcome to my life

No one ever lied straight to your face  
And no one ever stabbed you in the back  
You might think I'm happy  
But I'm not gonna be okay  
Everybody always gave you what you wanted  
You never had to work it was always there  
You don't know what it's like

What it's like

To be hurt, to feel lost  
To be left out in the dark  
To be kicked, when you're down  
To feel like you've been pushed around  
To be on the edge of breaking down  
When no one's there to save you  
No you don't know what it's like

To be hurt, to feel lost  
To be left out in the dark  
To be kicked, when you're down  
To feel like you've been pushed around  
To be on the edge of breaking down  
When no one's there to save you  
No you don't know what it's like

Welcome to my life

Welcome to my life

Welcome to my life.*"

* * *

There was an explosion in the Hokage mansion. Suzaku burst upright and removed the mask from his eyes. "What was that?!" he exclaimed. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and ran out of his room. There were cracks in the floor, and another explosion went off, shaking the whole building. Itachi ran down the hall, towards the stairs that led to the basement. Suzaku grabbed his collar. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Your captive, Ino," Itachi said, "She's escaping."

"Crap in a bucket!" Suzaku exclaimed, running down the hall, leaving Itachi behind. Itachi looked to the ceiling as another explosion went off.

"I'd wondered if someone had found that box," he said to himself. Then he ran after Suzaku.

Ino placed another bomb on the last wall and hid behind a desk. The bomb went off, leaving a hole in the wall, her escape. She jumped out, then heard someone pounding on the door a few rooms behind her. She looked to it, and saw the knob turning. She had moved a desk in front of it, and had tagged it with a few paper bombs that would go off when the door opened. She smiled. "Later," she said with a wink before taking off.

Suzaku tackled the door open, and was greeted instantly by the explosion. He flew back into the wall, blackened with soot and a strand his hair on fire**. He shook himself, and stood up, dusting himself off. He saw Ino climbing the wall surrounding the village, and flipped her the bird as Itachi came into the room. "Should I go after her sir?" he said.

"Forget it," Suzaku said, "That crazy chick was getting on my nerves anyways! All she did was eat the food and whine!" Itachi rolled his eyes.

"How do you expect Sasaku to return then?" he asked.

"I'll make sure he does," Suzaku said, "Remember, I've placed Ryu with him. If worst comes to worst, I'll tell him to bring Sasaku here himself." He stormed back inside, and Itachi followed. Suzaku went to the office and sat. "Well, since we're up, we might as well get an early start on the day."

"Dude," Itachi said, "It's two in the morning. You want to start the day now?"

"You can go back to sleep," Suzaku said, picking up the darts and throwing them at the picture of Sasaku, "But first, remind me how many people are left in the village that aren't brainwashed."

"Seven," Itachi said. Suzaku stumbled over himself and threw the dart straight through the window.

"Seven?" Suzaku asked. Itachi nodded. "It's been only two months," Suzaku continued, "And all we have left are seven people to make mine. Man, crack out the sake already, we're celebrating!"

"Great," Itachi said, "Can I go to sleep now?" Suzaku sighed and nodded, waving his fingers as if telling Itachi to go. Itachi left and Suzaku sat in the office alone. The repairs on the village had gone faster then expected, and were almost done. Even at this time of night, the brainwashed citizens of Konoha still labored, and therefore had finished quickly and easily.

"Seven more," Suzaku said to himself, throwing another dart at the board, "By noon toady, I will have complete control over Konoha. And then I will use the people of Konoha and Oto to put my plan into action." He reached under his desk and pulled out his own bottle of sake. "Cheers," he said to himself.

_To be continued..._

**Song: Welcome To My Life  
Artist: Simple Plan**

***First reaction to this song: "Dude, I gotta use that in my fic." Second reaction to this song: "Go cry little emo boy." The fact that "my fic" came before "how sad" says a lot about me doesn't it? **

****Maybe I pictured this differently then you did, so keep in mind: Suzaku is both mainstream super villain, and comic relief character, so it wasn't supposed to be serious burns and soot coverage, just anime humor burns and soot coverage. R&R!**


	99. Finding Sasaku

The sun rose over the small hill to the east, shinning in Sasaku's face. He was still wide-awake from when he woke up last night, and watched as the others slowly began waking up as well. From a distance, Sasaku made the sign of the tiger, and relit the remains of last nights fire. Ryu stood. "I'll go collect some food," he said, "Hinata, how about you come with me."

Hinata stood up and followed him as he walked off. Sasaku stood and walked over to the fire. He kneeled by it and took off his gloves so he could warm his hands. He noticed the curse mark on the back of his hand. It had grown slightly during the night. _Probably because of the dream,_ he told himself. He focused on the mark and forced it to recede back to normal. He then warmed his hands by the fire.

Karei yawned and stretched as she began to wake up. "How you feeling?" Sasaku asked her.

"Better," she said, "Now that I know what's going on."

"You think you're going to be okay?"

"You mean about Ishimaru?" she replied, "I'll be fine. I'm happy that he's alive, and I know he'll regain his memory. We just have to have patience."

"Karei," Sasaku said, laughing, "If we wait any longer, then Ishimaru could end up killing me. Look, we might just have to avoid him until he gets his head screwed on straight."

"From what I can see," Ami said, "If we don't get this friend of yours to get his memory back, it's going to mean problems for us all."

"Amen to that," Karei said, poking a stick into the fire. Sasaku sighed with relief. He was glad Karei was able to bounce back from things so quickly.

* * *

Ino walked alone along a trail heading away from the Leaf Village. She sighed. Even though she was glad to be away from Suzaku, she had no idea where Sasaku was. How was she supposed to find him anyways, when she didn't know what he was doing or where he was going? On top of that, she was alone, so the time was not quick to leave.

She stopped at a small rest stop on the side of the road. There was water and a place to sit. Ino sat herself at one of the benches, and closed her eyes. Then she heard two men begin to speak. "Did you hear that the repairs are almost done in Konoha?" one of them asked.

"No," the second one said, "I didn't even know something happened to the Leaf Village."

"How could you not have heard about it?" the first one said, "It was the big news of all time when it happened!"

"Well what was it?"

"The two remaining Uchihas, Sasuke and Itachi, they fought, and nearly destroyed the village in the process! Now Sasuke is being hunted as a rouge ninja. I hear he just landed in some town northeast of here."

"Uchiha Sasuke?" the second one said, "A rouge? Last time I checked, it was Itachi that fought against the village."

"It seems the tides have turned," replied the first one, "Some people think Sasuke is with that Sasaku kid."

"Really? Man, who would've expected the Uchiha to sink that low?"

Ino was done listening. She picked herself up and began walking again. _Maybe Sasuke can tell me how to find Sasaku,_ she thought. She angled in the direction the two men had spoke of.

* * *

Sasaku, Ryu, and Ami walked silently along the trail, angled towards the Rain Village, where Karei and Hinata had said the next host was. Sasaku turned to Ryu. "That jutsu that you used against Ishimaru," he said, "What was that?"

"It's a Kekkei Genkai," Ryu said, "Specific only to the half-blood members of the Andari clan."

"Kekkei Genkai," Sasaku said, "Well that figures. Wait, what do you mean half-blood?"

"The technique is only good to a mix of the Andari clan and any other person outside the clan. If two of the blood relatives within the Andari clan were to have a child, it would die because of the power from the jutsu."

"Well, a Kekkei Genkai with limitations," Sasaku whispered to himself, "Wait! Does that mean that there has to be incest in order to get the Sharingan and the Byakugan? Gross! I hope that didn't happen any time close for me!"

"The Andari clan are chakra manipulatists," Ryu continued, "The jutsu gives us total control over our chakra, and each member has different types of chakra. A green chakra is for major healing, while an orange chakra is for more minor injuries. Purple chakra is for soothing peoples minds, and yellow chakra..."

"Yellow chakra is a battle chakra, right?"

"Right. A few lucky people have obtained two different chakras, six in recorded history have gotten three, and there have been two people to get all four."

"Who are the two that got all four?" Ami asked.

"In order to understand that," Ryu said, "I need to tell you of the foundation of the Andari clan. Long ago, even before the Shinobi, there was a man, Andari Toramaru. He was the first to come into contact with the creature that I summon. He made a deal with the creature, that he would sell his soul to him for power in him and his worthy descendents. The creature accepted, and Toramaru was given four different types of chakra as a reward, each one belonging to the creature."

"The creature," Sasaku said, "Just what is it?" Ryu stopped and looked Sasaku straight in the eyes.

"Fear."

_To be continued..._


	100. Fear

**ONE HUNDERED CHAPTERS! THIS FANFIC IS HITTING THE TRIPLE DIDGETS! YA! So thank you to all who have stayed with me so far. You guys are awesome, and I don't know how you did it, but somehow you put up with me for all this time. Thank you, and enjoy! Oh, and in case you forgot, R&R!**

Sasaku gave Ryu a weird look. "Fear?" Ryu nodded.

"Yes," he said, "The creature is called Osore, and that is what he truly is. He is not just the physical presence of the creature you saw, but he is the fear inside our hearts and our souls. Toramaru was able to confront Osore, because Osore had no sway over him. Everyone looks at him as brave for being able to make the deal, but we do not share their beliefs. My clan came to the realization that bravery is facing the fear in your heart. Since he was born without fear, he couldn't be brave.

"Osore gave Toramaru his power, and said all descendents may use it. However, certain descendents may or may not be worthy, which is for Osore to decide. But since very few can actually face Osore, few are chosen to use his powers. And only the two that received all four chakras can summon Osore. The first one was Toramaru, and the second one..."

"The second one was you," Sasaku stated. Ryu nodded.

"But I was not born without fear," he said, "Like everyone said would have to be the case. No, I wasn't born fearless, I was just born brave, a word most of my clan doesn't understand. The reason I am as strong as I am is because of fear, the fear that I wont be able to avenge my brother. I have mastered control over all my other fears, that one is the only one I need to keep me alive."

"Osore..." Ami said, "What is he?"

"He is fear," he said, "He is a master at controlling our thoughts and our feelings. He peers into your soul, to find the things that you are afraid of, and uses those things against you. Osore is fed by your fear. He thrives off of it, becomes more powerful with it. He is a demon, an evil spirit. I know this, but it is by his power alone that I can accomplish my goal. He is the most powerful thing on the earth aside from the tailed beasts, and if he is my only option, then so be it. He has no control over me.

"I will use him as I please, and I refuse to give into him."

* * *

Naruto was in a small town near Kusa. The buildings were small, and had a grainy color to them. He and Sakura had not had any recent success with locating the tailed beasts, and Naruto was becoming frustrated. He kicked a rock as he walked alone, and it hit a post in the ground. He and Sakura had just split up for lunch, and were planning on meeting again in an hour. Naruto walked without any idea where he was going. Suddenly, a kunai stuck between his feet. Naruto jumped and looked up.

Two people in Akatsuki cloaks stood on a roof near him. Naruto growled and drew a kunai. The two both had hoods pulled over their heads. "Well, well, well," one of them said in a familiar voice, "Looks like you were right about finding the Kyubi here Tobi. You're not as dumb as you look. But I think I'll take it from here."

"Sempai," Tobi said, "Doesn't Tobi get to help with getting the Kyubi."

"No thanks," said Ishimaru, lowering his hood, "I got it." A look of shock crossed Naruto's face.

"Ishimaru," Naruto said, "What are you doing? Why are you with the Akatsuki? I thought you died."

"Ah," Ishimaru said, "You must be another one of those so-called friends of mine. What a coincidence, that I was once in a group with the Nine-Tailed Fox!"

"I swear Ishimaru," Naruto growled, "Today is not the day you want to mess with me." Ishimaru laughed and rocks began circling around him.

"Having a bad day?" Ishimaru laughed, "Fox boy?" Naruto growled and jumped up at Ishimaru, as if to punch him. Ishimaru lazily dodged and hit Naruto in the stomach. Then he punched Naruto across the face and slashed through his stomach with a kunai. Naruto fell to the ground on all fours, blood dripping from the slash in his chest. "Well," Ishimaru said, "I have to admit, that Sasaku kid was a much better challenge than you."

Naruto looked up to Ishimaru. "Yeah," he growled, a smile on his face, "Like I haven't heard that one before!" Naruto was then surrounded in a cloud of smoke and vanished. Ishimaru's eyes widened with shock.

"It's a shadow clone sempai!" Tobi yelled. Ishimaru whipped around and saw two Naruto's coming at them at full speed. One got Tobi in the stomach, and the other maneuvered around Ishimaru and elbowed him in the back of the neck. Then another twelve Narutos jumped from nowhere and piled on top of the two. They formed a large pile, when a whip of earth lashed out, destroying all the clones. Naruto jumped back to another building, then jumped at Ishimaru again.

The red chakra of the fox began to leak out, and Naruto went into a single tailed state. He punched Tobi in the face, sending him flying back through another building, which toppled on top of him. Then Naruto swiped at Ishimaru. A layer of rock barely caught the attack, and Naruto swiped at it again, sending the barrier crashing down. Then Naruto came in and tackled Ishimaru dead in the stomach.

Ishimaru clenched his teeth and jumped in the air, where a platform of rocks gave him a place to stand. He began shooting the rocks at Naruto, who charged right into the barrage, the chakra of the fox deflecting the projectiles. Ishimaru scowled and trapped Naruto inside a stone cocoon. After a moment, the cocoon exploded, and Naruto stood in the midst of it, his chakra flaring, and a second tail lashing about with the first.

_To be continued..._

**Just fyi, I was going to upload this earlier but the website wouldn't let me submit documents. So I was thinking about it, when I realized that I could just take one of my previously used docs and just past this chapter into it! Nothing can stop Shinobi Tales!**


	101. The Akatsuki and the Fox

Sasaku sat at a table, across from a small blonde haired boy. They were in a small room in a hut, near the southeastern border of the Earth Country. The sun had barely risen above the horizon. Ami and Ryu sat in the corner of the room, staring at them. "So," the boy said, "You say that my three tailed demon has one of the tails of your Kumori Tora? And you want the tail back?" Sasaku nodded.

"I need the tails," Sasaku said, "I will do anything to prove worthy to the demon hosts. Is there any way I could convince the Sanbi to give me the tail?" The boy paused for a minute.

"He wishes," the boy said, "For the wielder of the blade to prove worthy to receive the tail."

"Then we should start the fight immediately," Sasaku said. The boy shook his head.

"The Sanbi is not interested in your physical strength or shinobi talents," the boy said, "He wishes to test your mind. Your process of strategy and planning, that is what the Sanbi wants to see."

"What will you have me do then?" Sasaku asked, confused. The boy smiled and closed his eyes.

"Have you ever played Go?" the boy asked. Sasaku's eye twitched.

* * *

Naruto let out a roar and swiped his hand at Ishimaru's solid barrier, knocking a good portion of it out of the way. But, the barrier just replaced what was lost instantly, and Naruto let out a roar as he kept attacking the barrier. Ishimaru growled. He then shot up a pillar of stone at Naruto, who leapt sideways. When Naruto landed, Ishimaru encased Naruto's foot in earth.

Naruto looked Ishimaru straight in the eyes. The eyes of the Nine-Tailed Fox, piecing and demonic, met Ishimaru's, but having no effect. Ishimaru grinned. "Well now we have you trapped," he said, "Don't we Fox Boy." Naruto roared and broke free of the earth. Ishimaru weaved multiple hand signs, then slammed his hands to the ground. "Wood Style:" he yelled, "Gyakujou Hayashi!"

Giant roots sprang up from the ground, and began attack Naruto. As Ishimaru manipulated the roots, he slipped a food pill into his mouth, then let out a breath of air as he loosened up and felt the extra chakra stretch throughout his body. A root hammered Naruto in the stomach, sending him crashing outside the town and into a nearby tree. Sakura suddenly ran onto the scene.

"Ishimaru?!" she yelled. She then looked to Naruto again, and when she saw the cloak she was able to understand the situation. She threw four kunai at Ishimaru. He lazily dodged three, and caught the fourth. But then he looked to the handle, and saw a paper bomb wrapped around it. It blew up in his face, sending him spiraling backwards into another building. A bunch of rocks shot at Sakura, but she punched right through them.

Naruto began to stand, when Tobi jumped to him and placed a tag on his forehead. The chakra of the fox began to fade, and Naruto collapsed on the ground. "Ishimaru-sempai!" Tobi called, "Tobi has the fox!" Ishimaru and Sakura both turned to Tobi. Tobi bent over as if to grab Naruto, but Sakura ran over at top speed and smashed Tobi right in the jaw. Tobi was sent through a tree, and then the tree lashed out towards Sakura.

Sakura kicked the tree, shattering it, and then more roots shot up around her, along with a couple of boulders that hovered in midair. Sakura fought against Ishimaru's onslaught, demolishing everything that came her way. Suddenly, a root wrapped itself around Sakura's ankles. Then a huge boulder shot towards her.

Bending over, Sakura got a firm grip on the root, and pulled up as hard as she could. The root pulled up, ripping the ground everywhere it came up, and smashing through the boulder as Sakura lashed it sideways. Then Sakura ran in at Ishimaru. He threw up a thick wall of stone, backed up by more of the roots. Sakura smashed right through it, and connected with Ishimaru in the same punch. He landed upside down stuck into a wall.

Ishimaru coughed up blood before falling to the ground. He struggled a little, then stood. Sakura bent down to Naruto and pulled the tag off his forehead. Naruto stirred, and began to wake up. Ishimaru shook his head and jumped to one side of Naruto and Sakura. Tobi appeared on the other. Naruto and Sakura stood back to back, both of them panting.

"Thanks for the help," Naruto panted, "Sakura."

"Don't thank me yet," she replied, "We've still got a way to go."

Ishimaru made a hand movement, and a barrage of rocks shot at Naruto, who jumped up out of the way. Sakura whipped around and punched the boulder, shattering it. Tobi came in at Sakura, as if to punch her, but Naruto landed and kicked his legs out from under him. Tobi flipped back and landed in a tree, then launched at Naruto, full speed. Naruto spun around and hit Tobi across the face with the back of his fist.

Tobi kicked Naruto across the face, but Sakura grabbed him and threw him into the air. Then Naruto jumped up at him. They met in midair, and a clang rang out when their kunai hit. The two got their faces inches from each other, and Naruto snarled. Tobi threw his arm back, causing Naruto to go spiraling for the ground. Tobi landed smoothly next to Ishimaru, and Naruto landed across from them, at about ninety degrees. Now all four of them were panting, all in a fighting stance.

"Need a hand?" came a cool, calm voice, "Naruto." Sasuke landed across from Naruto, at ninety degrees to Sakura.

"Jeez Sakura," came another voice, "You really need to finish your own fights!" Ino landed across from Sakura. Ishimaru and Tobi glanced around to them all. Tobi's attention lingered on Sasuke for a good while. Sasuke returned a cocky smirk.

"Ishimaru," Tobi said, his voice strong and serious, "Time for us to go." Ishimaru nodded, and a cocoon of earth surrounded them and sunk into the ground, vanishing.

_To be continued..._


	102. Plans of Attack

Sasaku sat staring at the Go board between them, along with the boy. A minute passed, and then the boy spoke. "I pass," he said, "Victory is yours. The Sanbi will give you the tail." Sasaku sighed with relief, and slumped back in the couch he was on. He looked to the corner of the room, where Ami was snoring and Ryu was staring blankly at the wall. Ami yawned and woke up.

"Is the game over yet?" she whined. Sasaku nodded and stood. He looked out the window. The sun was setting out the window. He ran a hand through his hair, and reached over and put his jacket back on. Then he retied his headband and walked outside with the blonde boy. He then stuck the swords into the ground between them, and took a few steps back. They both made a hand sign, and a puddle of water formed around the swords.

The puddle shot into the air and took a spherical form. The sphere then took the shape of the tail. The water then fell to the ground, and a thin white tiger tail with red stripes appeared. _White again! What is this?_ Sasaku thought. The tail turned into a ball of energy, and zapped into the swords. The swords flashed into strange contraptions with leather straps and two thin blades. Sasaku wondered what they were, and then they flashed back to the blades.

Sasaku went over and picked up the swords. There was a new marking on the Kumori Tora. He sheathed them, and the blonde boy walked up to him. "I'm sorry that you had to do that to get the tails back," he said, "But the Sanbi said that in order to forgive the traitor, skill, determination, and patience would be necessary."

_Well that sure took a LOT of patience! Why don't we waste another whole day playing chess for a pack of gum!!!_ "Yeah," Sasaku said, "I'm just glad no one had to get hurt for this one. You saved me some trouble there." _But you cost me some time!_

"Good luck in your quest," the boy said, walking back into the hut as Ryu and Ami walked out. Ami was yawning and stretching. Sasaku began walking.

"Well that was just great," Ami said, "Way to lose a day Sasaku! I would've just beat the brat to a pulp until he gave me the tail!"

"Yeah," Sasaku said, "But it's a two sided deal. The demons hate the Kumori Tora for some reason which has yet to be revealed by any of the demons."

"Why don't you just ask the Kumori Tora?" Ami sighed.

"Because," Sasaku replied, "The Kumori Tora has lost all memory of the reason for the battle that went on with the demons before they became mortal. All he knows is the battle happened, and he was winning until the Nine-Tailed Fox stepped in. I don't know why the other demons call him a traitor, and I don't know why they hate him so, all I know is that I have to please them in order to get the tails."

"You have four tails now," Ryu said, "That is a lot of strength. What is your new weapon?"

"I don't know," Sasaku said, drawing the swords, "I didn't have enough time to tell before." He focused on the swords, and had them change into what they had become before. The swords disappeared, but hidden under his sleeves were two thin black blades strapped on his forearms. Sasaku put his arm up and focused on the blade, and the right one shot out.*

"That," Ami said, "Is awesome." Sasaku grinned and nodded. Then he began thinking.

"You're right Ryu," he said, "Four tails is a lot of power. Maybe... maybe now I have enough power to go to the village and take on Suzaku!"

"You're saying a lot there Sasaku," Ryu said, "Suzaku is more powerful than anyone else. I'm not sure that four tails will be enough to defeat him."

"No," Sasaku said, "Not defeat him. Not yet. But, I can go in, and rescue Ino. I should be able to get out after that."

"You sure you want to try this?" Ami said. Sasaku nodded.

"But I have to do this alone," he said, "I'm not-"

"I'm going with you," Ryu said, "I wish to see Suzaku." Sasaku gave Ryu a look.

"Your loyalties still only remain with the enemies of your enemies?" he asked, "Then how do I know I can still trust you?"

"If you don't want to trust me," Ryu said, turning and walking away, "Then don't."

* * *

Suzaku sat in a conference room. Standing next to him was Itachi. Across from him, on the other side of the conference table, sat Gaara. Behind Gaara were two of his bodyguards from the Sand Village, Kankuro included. "So you're threatening to declare war on Konoha because you believe that I'm the one that murdered Tsunade."

"Yes," Gaara said, "I have been testified to by a trustworthy source, and Sand Ninjas placed in Konoha see some sort of conspiracy going on." Suzaku smiled, then began laughing.

"I guess the secret's out then," he said, "I hope you realize that means none of you may leave here." Instantly, Kankuro and the other bodyguard drew their weapons. Suzaku smiled and instantly appeared in front of them. He stuck his palms to their foreheads. Marks appeared, then smoked and vanished. The two of them collapsed to the ground. Suzaku walked up to Gaara, who was still sitting. As he began to get close, the sand shot up between them, stopping Suzaku, who laughed.

Suzaku suddenly appeared before Gaara. A look of shock crossed Gaara's face before Suzaku hit him in the forehead. The mark appeared and smoked away, and Gaara passed out. "Suzaku," Itachi said, "The Kazekage is also the Jinchuuriki of the one-tailed sand demon, the Shikaku. If he sleeps, the Shikaku will awaken."

"Ah, but that's the glory of this jutsu," Suzaku said, "I have control over every consciousness within a body. The Shikaku, and Gaara are mine!" There was suddenly a crash that sounded throughout the Leaf Village. Suzaku stumbled and ran to the window to see what was going on. A wall of the village lay in ruins. Five figures walked out, each in an Akatsuki cloak. They were Zetsu, Hidan, Kisame, Kakuzu, and Pain.

"Looks like they got my note," Suzaku said, grinning.

_To be continued..._

***Just picture Assassins Creed here, only off the top of the arm. R&... well I think you know the drill.**


	103. Defeat of the Great

Zetsu, Hidan, Kakuzu, Kisame, and Pain all walked through the wreckage of the destroyed wall of the Leaf Village. Zetsu had a ravenous look in his eyes, as the plant-like casing around him seemed to shudder. Hidan walked briskly, his skin black with the skeleton markings covering him. Kakuzu's tentacles were lashing around wildly. Kisame bore his razor sharp teeth in a snarl. And Pain... Pain walked coolly, and briskly. Yet his eyes showed a rage like none other.

Suzaku smiled and opened the window of the office. "Lord Suzaku," Itachi said, "Don't become to comfortable in this fight. You may be stronger, but there are five of them."

"I know," Suzaku said, "I'll just have to even the odds." He made a never before seen hand sign, then placed his hands on the ground. "Forbidden Art:" he said, "Life Clone Jutsu." Four shadows appeared on the ground, and from each of them raised another Suzaku. But these weren't clones, these were living, breathing copies of Suzaku, ones that didn't rely on Suzaku for power, but instead relied on themselves. They could grow, they could age, they could have their own lives, separate from their creator.

However, each one was free to do as he chose, such was the effect of creating life. None of them could ever be the exact same in their mind as Suzaku. Then Suzaku made a sign, and quickly stuck a palm to their heads, brainwashing them as well. They each fell, but raised themselves back up instantly. They then began walking down the street towards the Akatsuki members. Suzaku sent a mental order to all those still in Konoha, telling them to move away from the battle.

The two groups met in the middle of town. Pain and Suzaku stood barely a few feet away from each other, their teams set behind them. Pain glared at Suzaku, who returned a cocky grin. "So," Suzaku said, "I finally get to meet the great founder of the Akatsuki. Well, I'd have to say, this is an honor."

"Spare the pleasantries," Pain said, "You turned down our offer, and now we consider you our enemy."

"I don't rule alongside anyone," Suzaku said, "I serve for myself and myself only."

"Fine," Pain said, "But we will make you one final offer. If you wish to avoid conflict, return the ring that belonged to Orochimaru, and we will leave." Suzaku smiled and pulled the ring off his finger. He held it out on his palm, towards Pain, who smiled. "A wise decision."

Suzaku then allowed the ring to slip off his hand onto the hard ground. It rolled back towards him a little, and then he stomped on it, shattering the ring into tiny fragments. A look of shock crossed each of the Akatsuki's face. Suzaku smiled, a dark, wicked smile. "No one tells Namikaze Suzaku what to do," he said, "And I dare you to try."

* * *

Sasaku shuddered randomly as he walked along the path. Ami looked to him nervously. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" she asked. Sasaku nodded. Ami looked nervously to the ground. "You know," she said, "I probably shouldn't even care, but why does this girl mean so much to you that you would go in risking your life for her."

"I'd think it'd be obvious," Sasaku said, "She's just that kind of person."

"So it wouldn't be worth waiting for the tenth tail, when victory is much more likely?"

"No. That would be to long. It has been to long, and I'm surprised at myself for being able to wait even for this huge amount of time."

"When you're away from the one you love," Ami said, "Every moment you wait to see them again is an eternity. Is that what you mean?" Sasaku nodded, and noticed Ami glance over to Ryu. Then Ami looked back to Sasaku. "I would hardly consider us friends," she said, "But we've been fighting together for quite a while. I feel like I should be there when you fight Suzaku."

Sasaku smiled. "Thanks, but no thanks," he said, "Suzaku's a madman. He could easily kill me. He doesn't because he needs me for something, I just don't know what. But you... he could kill the innocent unhesitatingly and easily. No, me and Ryu need to do this."

"But I..." Ami began, but she stopped. Ryu looked to her as they walked.

"He's right," he said, "I don't want you getting hurt either." Sasaku and Ami looked at Ryu in surprise. "I know you want to help, and you can," he continued, "But not on the front lines. When we escape from the fight, we can use you for our distraction. You're good with genjutsu, right?" Ami nodded.

"Good," Sasaku said, "Because I suck with it. While we're at it, I think we should lay out a battle strategy."

"Good thinking," Ryu said, pulling a map out of his pack and laying it on the ground. The mad unrolled, and lots of other papers of blueprints for other large buildings spilled out, along with another map, but not showing buildings, and instead showing what looked like paths. Ryu moved them all aside and picked out one specific one, laying it on the maps. Then he pulled out a pencil and looked up to Sasaku. Sasaku crouched across from him, and Ami sat down with her legs crossed.

"Now," Ryu said, tapping the blueprint he'd selected, "This is the Hokage mansion. There are many secret passages in and out of the mansion, but none of them are easy to find. This will probably be your way in. This map," he tapped the one without the buildings, "Is a network of tunnels hidden underneath the Leaf Village. It shows what goes to where, and how you can access them.

"Since you are so wanted in the village, you don't want to be seen, so like I said before, you'll need to use these tunnels. The problem is, none of them are a straight shoot to the mansion from the outside, so you'll need to make some transfers. You'll need to make as few transfers as possible. From what I can tell, these," he traced three paths with his pencil, "Are the shortest routes. Now, in this area..."

* * *

Suzaku stood over Pain and the other four Akatsuki members. They were on the ground, badly injured, and lying in a large puddle of their combined blood. Suzaku laughed, a cruel, dark laugh. Pain pushed himself up, and looked at the five Suzaku's. "You're not worth my time," Suzaku said. He then proceeded to walk off. "Oh, but before I go," he said, "I want you to know that I am still the only person in existence as powerful as me."

He whipped around and slashed through each of the Suzaku clones with a kunai. A grin touched Suzaku's face. "Only a true idiot would allow someone to live when they could be a threat," he said. Then he walked off. Itachi appeared before Pain. He stared Pain in the eye, and Pain returned with a glare.

"I told you he was strong," Itachi said. He then spat on Pain's face, and walked off after Suzaku. Pain hit his fist to the ground and cursed at himself. He then forced himself to stand, as did the other Akatsuki members.

"We will retreat..." Pain said, staring after Suzaku, "For now."

_To be continued..._


	104. Assult

Suzaku sat in his office. There was a knock on his door. "Come in," Suzaku called. The door opened, and Ryu walked in. "Ryu?" Suzaku said, "I wasn't expecting you back for a much longer time. Do you have a status report on the target? How many tails does he have?"

"Four," came Ryu's bland reply.

"Four?" Suzaku said, "Already? My, my, Sasaku is making good progress. Have you had any problems so far?"

"Just attacks from the Akatsuki," Ryu said.

"You too? Why, just a week ago five of those pests decided to show up in Konoha." Ryu's eyes widened.

"And? Did you kill them?" Suzaku laughed.

"I sent them back to where they came from in bad shape. I don't think you'll have any trouble with the five that confronted me." Ryu looked to the ground.

"You think this is all a game, don't you?" he said. Suzaku looked at him with interest. "I have a deep desire to destroy the Akatsuki, and yet every chance you get, you let them live. I have served you well enough to where you should put my interests in mind." Shadows were cast over Suzaku's eyes as he lowered his head.

"I don't like it," he growled, "When people try to tell me what to do!"

"And I don't like it when people use me to their advantage!" Ryu shouted, drawing his knife, "Sasaku! Now!" A look of shock crossed Suzaku's face as Sasaku burst up through the desk from the hidden passage just under it. He then punched Suzaku in the face, and kicked him through the window. Suzaku flew back, and Sasaku drove his elbow into Suzaku's back, sending him plummeting into the ground below.

Suzaku landed in the street, creating a large cloud of dust when he struck. Sasaku landed in the dust cloud, and waited for it to clear. The dust slowly vanished, and Suzaku appeared down on one knee. He stood, and gave Sasaku a friendly smiled. Then he spat out a tooth onto the ground. "You have gotten stronger," he said, "But you still lack the strength to beat me."

"Where's Ino?" Sasaku demanded. Suzaku rolled his eyes.

"Let her go," he said, "She was starting to get on my nerves!" A surprised look crossed Sasaku's face, and relief covered his mind. Then he realized that if Ino wasn't there, he didn't need to be, and he began to run. Just as he got to the top of the city wall, a wall of fire stopped him. He turned around, and saw Suzaku.

"Why are you in such a hurry to go?" Suzaku said, "Is that the only reason you came? That little Ino girl? Come on, how lame can you get? I want to see how far you've come. So, rouge boy, where are they?" As he spoke, he slowly walked until he was on top of the wall with Sasaku,

"Where are what?" Sasaku asked.

"Don't play dumb," Suzaku said, "The Kumori Tora and the Demon Sword. Did you think you could take me on without them?" Sasaku remained quiet as Suzaku walked up to him. It was then that Sasaku realized how much taller he was then Suzaku. Such a trivia though seemed so out of place, Sasaku couldn't help but smirk. Suzaku grinned and charged in at Sasaku.

He came in as if to punch, but Sasaku elbowed Suzaku in the nose, then punched at him. Suzaku jumped just out of the punch's range. Then the hidden blade shot out from Sasaku's sleeve and pierced Suzaku's shoulder. Suzaku looked at it in amazement, then dodged as Sasaku came in with the other hidden blade. Blood spilled out from his shoulder as he moved, and he made a quick hand sign. As he dodged Sasaku's attacks, his hand was covered in a green aura. He touched the wound, and it instantly began to seal.

Sasaku growled and came in stronger. He tried to sweep out Suzaku's legs, but Suzaku jumped. When he tried slashing through Suzaku with the blades, Suzaku was able to dodge them in the most complex maneuvers. _He's not even trying!_ Sasaku thought, changing the hidden blades back into katanas. He slashed down in an X shape, yelling "Shadow Style: Tsukigata Tsuki!" Suzaku held out his hand, and the energy from the blast vanished.

"FIGHT ME!" Sasaku screamed. Suzaku grinned.

"You asked for it," he said. Suddenly, Sasaku had been thrown into a building. He blasted through it, then tumbled through three more before sliding to a stop. He struggled to stand, and as soon as he made it to one knee, Suzaku elbowed him in the chin, sending him twirling into the air. Sasaku quickly changed the swords into the knuckles, and as Suzaku jumped towards him, his fist collided with Suzaku's.

Suzaku laughed, then reached his hand around and grabbed Sasaku's wrist. He spun Sasaku around him three times before throwing Sasaku straight to the ground. Sasaku fell on his back, making a crater in the street. Suzaku landed about ten yards away. Sasaku stood, slowly, black chakra covering his body. With his head hung down he formed the Chidori in one hand, and the Rasengan in the other. Both jutsus were darkened by the chakra of the Kumori Tora.

"It's useless," Suzaku smirked, " Why do you bother fighting destiny? What is the point of trying to fight the inevitable? You are only prolonging your demise. You are weak, and I am strong. With a flick of the wrist," he tossed a kunai right between Sasaku's feet, as if in a threat, "I could kill you. With a snap of the fingers," he snapped his fingers and shinobi from all over the village instantly surrounded them, "I could turn the world against you."

Sasaku grinned, his hair hiding his eyes. "If the world chooses to become my enemy," he said, slowly raising his head, "I will fight like I always have!"*

_To be continued..._

***Also stole that line (don't expect you to know what from, but just letting you know). But sorry, it's just such an awesome line, how could I not use it. R&R!**


	105. Common Point

A grin crossed Sasaku's face. The black chakra of the Kumori Tora surrounded his body, blackening his Chidori and his Rasengan. The curse mark had begun to spread over his arm, and had made it halfway across his face. He was going all out here. Suzaku bore a look of dissatisfaction as he heard Sasaku speak. "Is that so?" he said.

"You better believe it!!" Sasaku shouted, smashing his hands together. A blast of energy shot from Sasaku's palms towards Suzaku. But, the beam wasn't the usual bright rainbow. No, it was deep grey, with shades of purple and crimson. It seemed dark, and demonic, much like the different forces assisting Sasaku now. The beam blasted its way through the street, destroying everything in its path. It struck Suzaku dead on, but didn't continue past him.

Sasaku growled, and continued to fire the blast. After a minute of a constant attack, he finally had to end the jutsus fueling the blast. There was a ball of smoke and dust where Suzaku had been. It slowly lifted, and Sasaku saw Suzaku's legs slowly appear. Then came his torso and one of his arms. At last, it lifted, and Sasaku saw Suzaku's face and other arm, which had been held towards the blast. The arm was burnt and bloody, and there was a scowl on Suzaku's face.

"You want to defeat me?" he growled, "I only do this for my father! He didn't deserve it! He doesn't deserve death! He was the best leader the village ever had! So why? Why did the village sacrifice him to protect themselves?!"

"No, Suzaku," Sasaku said, "You're going about this all wrong! The village didn't sacrifice your father, he sacrificed himself, for the sake of the village, because he loved it!"

"Be quiet!" Suzaku yelled, "What do you know about having someone ripped away from you that early on in your life?!"

"Believe me," Sasaku said, "I know more about it than you would expect." Suzaku's eyes widened, and then a calm smile crossed his face.

"That's right," he laughed, "Horo, the man that murdered you mother. What did you do when he took your mothers life?"

"I..." Sasaku began, but then realized something. What he had done, was exactly what Suzaku said he was doing now. He sought his revenge on the reason his father was killed, just like Sasaku sought revenge on Horo. Sasaku was left dumbfounded. He couldn't believe how well Suzaku put him in such a position.

"You see then," Suzaku said, "We have a lot in common. We both want to avenge our dead parents. I helped you to get your revenge, now it's time for you to return the favor. Sasaku, help me to achieve my goal, help me to avenge the fourth Hokage. Join me, and you will be joining the winning side. It's your choice..."

Sasaku looked up. He couldn't say anything. He just stared in shock at Suzaku. "But... I..."

"Snap out of it Sasaku!" came Ryu's voice. Sasaku looked over and saw him standing on the roof of one of the shattered buildings. "He's twisting his words," Ryu continued, "You cannot think that you have anything in common. While your revenge was found in the death of one guilty man, his is found in the death of a thousand innocents! You two are completely different! You can't join him, for the sake of Konoha!"

"Stay out of this!" Suzaku yelled, "You traitor!" Ryu frowned behind the scarf.

"I side with no one," he said. Suzaku growled and formed a Burning Rasengan in his right hand. He then thrust his hand at Ryu, and an expanded blast of fire shot itself at Ryu, catching everything nearby on fire. Just as it was about to strike, Ryu jumped up out of the way, to the top of a nearby post. Suzaku shot another one at him, and Ryu jumped to the street, and dashed at Suzaku.

He came in with his knife, and managed to run right past Suzaku, leaving a thin slash on his cheek. Suzaku looked back in surprise at Ryu, and saw Sasaku's fist coming in. It hit him, and he was sent into a wall. Then Ryu came in to punch through the smoke, but his fist was caught. The smoke cleared, and showed Suzaku's grinning face. "My turn," he said.

Ryu was twirled over Suzaku's head, and thrown into the ground. Sasaku came in at full speed, his curse mark spreading a little farther, and the four tails of the Kumori Tora sprouting from the tiger shaped aura around him. He swiped at Suzaku with the Demon sword, and barely missed. Suzaku ducked, and then punched Sasaku from below, in the chin, throwing him backwards. Sasaku landed on his back, then instantly stood up and ran at Suzaku again, and began unleashing a barrage of attacks.

Suzaku dodged each move, but he was beginning to look a little more agitated. Sasaku knew that he didn't have the kind of strength to defeat him, but he was amazed that he was actually beginning to challenge Suzaku. But then, he realized that it wasn't actually him fighting. It was the Kumori Tora, and his curse mark that were doing all the work, not him. But still, they worked because of him, and therefore, he was able to convince himself it was his strength.

Suzaku lashed out and swept Sasaku's legs out from under him. Sasaku fell back, and Suzaku kicked him like a soccer ball down the street straight into the village wall a good quarter mile away. Ryu then got up and dashed at Suzaku, but he was countered and brought to the ground. Ryu instantly kicked, and nailed Suzaku in the shin, making him fall back. Ryu stood, and Suzaku punched him in the face, smashing him into a building.

A cloud of smoke appeared, and Suzaku dashed into it, a kunai drawn, about to attack Ryu. A clang of steel rang out. As the smoke cleared, Suzaku stared into the eyes of Sasaku, who had reached the second stage of his cure mark. Sasaku grinned.

_To be continued..._


	106. Released Mark

**Sorry, I haven't updated in forever, huh? I hope it was worth the wait. I'm not going to have any long breaks anymore, and will actually try to update maybe four times a week. Hope you enjoy! R&R!**

Sasaku stared at Suzaku, his eyes strange and piercing. The blood red Sharingan right eye seemed to attract all the attention, while the extremely pale Byakugan left eye was difficult to even look at. A small grin crossed Sasaku's face. "Payback," he said, his voice echoing the voices of multiple souls. He slashed his swords down against Suzaku's kunai, sending him flying back. Suzaku smashed into a building, and landed on the wall, planting his feet firmly.

He looked up at Sasaku and frowned. "A full curse mark," he said, "A four tailed demon of the shadow element, natural talent, a combined Kekkei Genkai, and on top of that, all of these factors supplying a limitless amount of strength and chakra..." He paused and thought to himself, _He may prove to be more of a challenge earlier on than I thought._

Sasaku stood and analyzed Suzaku for a moment. "Substantial threat," he said, "taking evasive action." Sasaku lifted an unconscious Ryu on his shoulder. The metal fan-like objects extended from his arms, and he jumped into the air, and glided over the wall of fire surrounding the village. Suzaku stared after him in interest.

"That curse mark..." he said, "It has a mind of it's own. It's not Sasaku when that mark takes over; it's someone else entirely. Whatever is in the mark, it's very analytical, and knows a lot about his opponents. How could Orochimaru have devised a mark that is that powerful? One that actually has a soul of it's own?" He stopped and thought. "There was nothing like that in any of those curse mark scrolls that I found. Then how...?"

"Lord Suzaku," said Iruka in a monotone, "Shall we make pursuit?" Suzaku shook his head and waved a hand at him.

"No," he said, "I'm not ready to take his body as my own yet. I still need to improve my chakra so I can transfer my own to combine with his. I mean, I wouldn't like to lose my Flying Wind God technique. No, let him go... Neither of us are ready yet."

* * *

Sasaku landed in the middle of the forest, miles away from the village. He dropped Ryu on the ground, then held his head and leaned against a tree. The fans retracted back into his arms. "Stop controlling me," he muttered angrily to himself. His hair became darker again, and his skin regained its color. His nails and knuckles receded to their usual size and shape. Finally, the curse mark pulled itself back into the mark on the back of his hand.

Sasaku fell to his knees, still clinging onto his throbbing head and the tree. He was panting, then looked over to Ryu. His arm had smashed into the ground, and was bent in ways that it shouldn't bend. It was bloody, with a bone sticking out at least an inch. Sasaku feared for the worse, and used his Byakugan to check, Ryu's arm was shattered in six places, and couldn't be fixed easily. Sasaku looked around worriedly, wondering if he had managed to land anywhere near the planned destination.

It didn't seem like it, and he hoped that Ami would be able to find them soon. Ryu's eyes fluttered open, and he instantly sat up and clutched his arm to his stomach. His scarf and the ribbon around his head fell off as he sat up, and he ground his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut in pain. But he didn't make a sound. He sat like that for a minute before his breathing became regular again, and he was able to turn to Sasaku.

"What..." Ryu groaned, "Happened...?"

"I hardly know myself," Sasaku said, "But my curse mark went out of control again." Despite obvious discomfort, Ryu stood, his teeth clenched. Sasaku stared at him in amazement.

"Where's..." he said with a pained gasp, "Ami...?"

"Don't move," Sasaku said, standing straight, "You shouldn't move your arm!"

"I know that," Ryu said, as calmly as possible. He used his good arm to lift his bad one, and rest it on a branch nearby. A greenish chakra surrounded his good hand, and he held it to the destroyed arm. The chakra surrounded the arm, and slowly soaked in. Sasaku watched as the arm repaired itself. Each joint, each broken bone, each piece of torn flesh, they all were completely back to normal within a minute.

Ryu lifted his arm and flexed his fingers. Sasaku stared at him in amazement as Ryu walked over and picked up his ribbon and scarf. "That chakra," Sasaku said, "Is it really that powerful?"

"It's the chakra of a creature that was able to worm his way into the heart of everyone in the world," Ryu said, tying the ribbon around his head and throwing the scarf around his face, "This isn't even remotely close to its true power." Sasaku swallowed, then looked to his swords, wondering which one would be stronger in the end. "We should move," Ryu continued, "Ami will be getting worried if we don't show up."

"Yeah," Sasaku said, stepping foreword, "Let's go."

"Sasaku."

"Hm?"

"...Thank you." A look of surprise crossed Sasaku's face.

"Um, sure," he said, "No problem." Ryu turned away and began jumping through the forest towards their intended destination. Sasaku followed swiftly.

* * *

Sasuke was jumping through the forest, heading towards the Leaf Village, with Ino trailing close behind him. "Are you sure you heard Sasaku was going towards the village?" Ino called, "You said he only has four tails."

"Positive," Sasuke said, "I don't know why he would try such a risky maneuver though. It's not like him to be that careless."

"That's what I thought too," Ino said. There was silence for a moment.

"I feel kinda bad for leaving Naruto and Sakura so quickly," Sasuke said.

"Oh, they'll be fine," Ino said, "They just had one unlucky encounter."

"Yeah," Sasuke replied, "But Naruto seems to have a lot of those." He suddenly stopped, and looked around. Ino came to a stop next to him.

"Well?" she asked. Sasuke paused for a moment.

"This way," Sasuke said, leaping in a direction, "It's Sasaku!"

_To be continued..._


	107. Happy Reunion

Sasaku and Ryu jumped through the trees. "Hold on," Sasaku said, "Someone's coming."

"Ami?" Ryu asked.

Suddenly, and out of nowhere, Sasaku jumped through a tree and collided with someone. They both fell to the ground a few meters below. Sasaku groaned and looked up. It was Sasuke he'd run into. He stood up and brushed his hands off on his pants. Sasuke shook his head and looked to Sasaku. "Knew we'd find you here," he said. Sasaku laughed.

"What," he said, "You miss me?"

"No," Sasuke replied, "But she did." Sasaku fell foreword when Ino threw her arms around his neck from behind him.

"Sasaku!" she exclaimed. Sasaku was so surprised that he couldn't do anything but smile for a moment. Then he whipped around, grabbing her by the waist and spun her in the air around him. Then he set her down, and the two of them embraced, Sasaku burying his face in Ino's hair.

"I missed you so much," Sasaku said, "Man, I feel so useless! I couldn't help you because of what was going on."

"Don't worry about it," she said, "I can stand up for myself!"

"I know," Sasaku said, kissing her on the forehead and pulling away. He turned and saw Ryu and Sasuke staring at them blankly. His face turned red and he turned away from them. Ino laughed and hugged him tightly.

"Glad you two could be reunited," Sasuke said. Ryu stepped foreword.

"I'm going to go find Ami and let her know everything's alright," he said, "Why don't you guys wait here." Without waiting for a reply, he took off. The three of them stood in awkward silence for a minute.

"So how did you escape?" Sasaku asked Ino, "I mean, it couldn't have been easy to get out of that room."

"Easier than you would think," Ino replied, "I wasn't the first one in there. And the last person that was in the room left a box of paper bombs and a note. It said something about the evils of the village council or something like that. I didn't pay much attention to it, since it was probably written by some crazed maniac."

"Do you still have the note?" Sasaku asked. Ino nodded and reached into her pouch and pulled it out. She was about to hand it to Sasaku, when Sasuke snatched it. Sasaku frowned at him, and watched as Sasuke read it and a look of shock crossed his face. "What?" Sasaku said, "What's it say?"

"It just says what Ino explained earlier," he said, "But that's not what I'm worried about. This handwriting, I recognize it. But... no, it can't be..."

"What?" Ino and Sasaku said, together.

"The person that wrote this," Sasuke said, "It was my brother, Itachi."

* * *

A boy with short dark brown hair jumped through the forest. The boy wore heavy brown boot. His shirt was grey, and tight against his mass, as were his black pants. His face was tan, and his eyes a deep chocolate color. The boy traveled quickly, and sniffed the air. He changed direction and shot foreword. Then he stopped and watched. Ryu was jumping through the trees. He hadn't noticed the boy yet. The boy continued sneaking quickly through the trees, after Ryu. It seemed Ryu had no idea he was there. As the boy began to approach, a yellow chakra covered his hand.

Ryu instantly spun around and launched a kunai right at the boy. The boy dodged and jumped out into the open. Ryu glared at the boy, and the boy returned with a grin. "How'd you know I was there Ryu?" he said.

"You don't think I'd recognize the chakra of my own clan?" Ryu replied with a growl, "Why are you wasting my time Noboru? I thought I'd seen the last of you!"

"It's Scarab now," Noboru said, "You sound unhappy to see me. What's the matter, did I do something?" Ryu growled and crossed his hands then threw them outwards, and a yellow chakra covered his body. A grin touched the Noboru's lips as his own chakra spread over his body. He jumped foreword and came in as if to punch Ryu, but Ryu punched him across the face. Noboru looked surprised, and caught Ryu's eye.

Ryu threw a kick and sent Noboru spiraling back. Then he held his palm out and launched a ball of the yellow chakra. Noboru barely jumped out of the way, and the tree he was in was burnt to a crisp. He smiled. "You're stronger," he said, throwing his own chakra at Ryu, who deflected it and then launched a wave of the chakra at Noboru.

Noboru was struck by the chakra and hit the tree. He leaned against the tree, and his own chakra began to vanish. He shot a grin at Ryu. "Well," he said, "You're a lot better. This takes our plans back quite a bit." Ryu walked up to Noboru and stabbed him through the chest with the knife.

"What do you want with me?" Ryu said, "Why are the Andari Renegades after me?" Noboru chuckled, coughing up blood.

"Take a guess," he said, ripping off his sleeve. A load of paper bombs covered his arm. Ryu's eyes widened and he jumped back. The bombs went off, sending Ryu spiraling back. He slammed into a tree and fell foreword, landing on one knee. He looked up and saw the burnt circle that was left in the trees. There were charred remains of Noboru's body, but there wasn't any possibility that he could have survived. Ami appeared on the scene. She looked around, then looked to Ryu.

"I saw the explosions," she said, "What happened? Where's Sasaku?"

"Sasaku's fine," Ryu said, "We escaped from Suzaku. But he wound up on the wrong side of the village."

"So who did this?" Ami asked.

"Noboru showed up," Ryu said, "Thought he could beat me."

"The renegades again? I thought you said you'd seen the last of them!"

"That's what I thought too. But it seems they're still trying." Ami looked at Ryu in worry. "Don't worry," he said, "I'm stronger than they could ever hope to be. Whatever they want, they're not going to get."

_To be continued..._


	108. Confrontation

"I... Itachi wrote that?" Sasaku said after reading over the note himself, "He had to have been laced with insanity! There's no way there's any truth to this!"

"That's what I want to believe," Sasuke said, "But... I don't know..." He looked up to the village.

"What do you think?" Ino asked him. Sasuke shook his head.

"I think I need to go get some answers," he replied, "I need to talk to Itachi."

"No!" Sasaku exclaimed, "You're not going to the village!"

"I have to!" Sasuke shouted back, "I need to know what he meant when he said that he'd never forgive the village for what they tried to make him do! No, I need to know the truth!"

"You'll be killed if you go there again!" Sasaku yelled. Sasuke caught Sasaku's eye, then darted towards the village. Just before Ino took off after him, Sasaku told her to stay and took off himself. He ran through the forest after Sasuke with all his might. Then he grabbed Sasuke's sleeve, sliding them both to a stop. Sasuke turned around and punched Sasaku across the face.

Sasaku stumbled back, surprised by the sudden attack. He then regained his footing and dashed after Sasuke. After a second, Sasaku tackled him, but Sasuke shifted his shoulders and rolled out from under Sasaku, who then got up and jumped in front of Sasuke's trail, cutting him off. Sasuke growled and punched at Sasaku, but Sasaku caught his fist. The same thing happened with the other fist, and then Sasaku blocked a kick.

It was obvious that neither of them wanted to injure the other, but Sasuke was becoming increasingly agitated. Why couldn't Sasaku just let him go? This was none of his business anyways! But Sasaku felt it an obligation to stop his friend from getting in harms way. And he'd be willing to do anything to stop it from happening again.

Sasaku then wrapped his wrist around Sasuke's leg, and flipped Sasuke backwards. Sasuke landed on the ground gracefully, then dashed sideways into the forest, angling towards the village. Sasaku followed swiftly. "I'm sorry," he muttered, "But you make me do this." He then caught up to Sasuke and chopped him in the back of the neck. Sasuke fell foreword, unconscious. Sasaku walked up to inspect the body.

It vanished in a cloud of smoke. Sasaku swore and turned on his Byakugan. He saw Sasuke running a few meters away. He ran beside him so Sasuke couldn't notice, then jumped out and tackled Sasuke sideways. Sasuke fell to the ground, and Sasaku stood over him. Sasuke swept his legs out from under him, then got up and ran. Sasaku jumped up and ran too. He grabbed Sasuke's wrist and pinned him to the ground.

Sasuke threw himself foreword and kicked Sasaku in the back. Sasaku rolled foreword, then stood facing Sasuke, who'd just jumped to his feet. The two clashed, and held onto each other by the upper arms while trying to get at each other. Suddenly, something threw the two of them apart. Sasaku fell back, then looked up and saw Ryu standing there.

Sasuke stood, then looked between Ryu and Sasaku. Then he turned around and took off. Sasaku stood and walked to Ryu. "Why'd you let him go?!" Sasaku said, "Suzaku could tear him to shreds!"

"This is the best way," came Ryu's calm reply.

"Best way?!" Sasaku shouted, "Letting Sasuke walk to his death alone and unprepared is the best way?!"

"The last thing you need is another enemy," Ryu stated blankly. Sasaku started to say something, but couldn't find a rebuttal. Ryu turned on his heel and began to walk off.

"So what then?!" Sasaku yelled, "Why would you just let someone do something that stupid?!"

"Don't let emotions get in your way," Ryu said, staring Sasaku straight in the eye, "It clouds your judgment. The best way to do something is the logical way." He turned on his heel and began walking away. Sasaku growled, then looked after Sasuke, and after a minute, turned and followed Ryu. He released his breath and looked towards Sasuke's direction again.

_Idiot!_ he thought, _Sasuke doesn't know what he's getting himself into!_

* * *

_Later..._

Sasuke stood in the middle of the street in the Leaf Village. An army of shinobi surrounded him, and Suzaku stood a ways down the street. A grin was across Suzaku's face. "I should kill you for what you did to my village," he said.

"I want to see Itachi!" Sasuke said, "I need answers!"

"We all have questions," Suzaku said, pacing back and forth, "A few are answered. Why do you want Itachi?" Sasuke growled, as if in a threat. Suzaku smirked. "Still a feisty one," he said. He then snapped his fingers, and the surrounding shinobi grabbed his arms. Sasuke struggled against them, but they kept their grips tight and began dragging him through the village.

"What are you doing?!" Sasuke shouted.

"You wanted to see your brother," Suzaku replied, "Right?" Sasuke stared at Suzaku and stopped struggling. They walked and walked, and somewhere along the way, Suzaku whispered something into a radio. Then they continued moving until Sasuke found himself at the Chunnin exam stadium. The shinobi let go of him, and Sasuke stepped foreword.

"And why are we here?" he asked.

"I don't like it when you damage my village," Suzaku replied, "I really, don't like it. So do me a favor, and stay within the arena."

"Or what?" Sasuke said. Suzaku turned and grinned at Suzaku.

"Try it and find out," he said. Sasuke stared back unflinchingly. He then stepped past Suzaku, his gaze never detaching from Suzaku's. He then walked into the arena and stepped through into the dusty terrain that was all too familiar. As he walked into the sunlight, he saw a figure standing in the distance.

"Hello again," Itachi said, "Brother."

Sasuke growled and clenched his fist. He pulled out the folded up note, then opened it, and held it towards Itachi. "Just what is this?" he asked.

_To be continued..._


	109. Sibling Rivals

Sasuke held out the note, and Itachi stared at it blankly. With his Sharingan on, he could read it from such a distance. Itachi then frowned and crossed his arms, tucking one inside the kimono. "That wasn't meant for you," he said, "You should disregard it."

"You said you loved the village!" Sasuke said, "If that's true then why?! Why did you do it?!" Itachi was silent for a moment.

"Does it matter why I did it?" he said, "I murdered our clan. Every single member of it. Instead of fretting over a note written a long time ago, you should be more focused on defeating me."

"What did the council try to make you do?!" Sasuke yelled, "How come they put you inside that room?!"

"Are you just going to let your family go?" Itachi said, coolly, "Did you forget your hatred? Your desire for revenge?"

"Why did you do it?!?"

"Are you just going to let them die in vain?" Itachi began sounding agitated. He was provoking Sasuke, trying to get him to attack. The last line had worked. Sasuke growled and fired off a Dragon Fire Jutsu, using Fan the Flames. Itachi waved his hand and stopped all of the flames. The fire dissipated, and Sasuke looked into Itachi's eyes. "You're going to have to try harder then that," Itachi said.

Sasuke snarled and ran at Itachi full speed. He punched, and Itachi blocked it lazily. Then Sasuke kicked, but Itachi jumped just out of the way. Sasuke took out a kunai and swiped, and Itachi ducked and threw a punch at Sasuke's stomach, but Sasuke parried and threw an uppercut to Itachis chin. Itachi fell back a little, then regained his footing and threw a jab.

Sasuke blocked the arm and rolled across it, ending with an elbow to Itachi's temple. Then he rolled back across, and elbowed him in the other temple. With his hand still on Itachi's arm, he drove his knee into Itachi's stomach, and threw him over his shoulder. Itachi hit the ground with a thud, sending a puff of dust up. He threw himself upwards and back fisted Sasuke across the face.

Then Itachi twisted Sasuke's arm behind his back. Sasuke replied by driving his elbow into Itachi's chest, sending him backwards. Then Sasuke grabbed the ocarina around his neck and played a few notes. Taka appeared on Sasuke's arm. Then he thrust out his arm, and Taka flew foreword and attacked Itachi, swiping at his face and arms.

Suzaku sat watching, sitting where the Hokage would sit during the exams. He grinned. "You know," he said to himself, "Sasuke's a lot stronger than I remember..." Sasuke then jumped in with Taka, and smashed his brother right in the nose. Itachi stumbled back, then launched a fireball at him. Sasuke dodged and planted his feet firmly. Itachi began weaving hand signs.

"Fire Style:" he said, "Hellfire!" A jet of black flames shot from Itachi's mouth. Sasuke rolled sideways, and made his own hand signs.

"Blaze of Glory!" he yelled, firing of the white-hot flames of the jutsu. Itachi deflected them with his palm and jumped at Sasuke. The two collided, and instantly began attacking each other with furious taijutsu. Then Sasuke thrust a Chidori towards Itachi. However, Itachi moved and Sasuke destroyed his arm. Itachi growled and punched Sasuke in the chest, sending him flying back, and cracking something.

"Quite a show, I must admit," came a voice from behind Suzaku. He looked back and saw a man with thick blonde dreadlocks standing there, staring at the battlefield.

"Ah," Suzaku said, "Good to see you again Undertow." The man grinned and looked to Suzaku.

"Please," he said, "Why so formal? You may call me by my name."

"Sorry Takeshi," Suzaku replied, "Whatever you please."

"You said that you want Ryu out of the picture," Takeshi said.

"Specifically," Suzaku said, watching the fight, "I said I wanted him-YES! (the random exclamation because Itachi had just kicked Sasuke into a side wall and smashed him in the ribs)- I wanted him dead."

"Well, the renegades need him," replied Takeshi, "I can only guarantee that he'll be out of your hair."

"You need him alive?" Suzaku said, "Then that might work to my advantage. When you're done with him, I get to finish him off."

"Sounds like a fair enough deal. Now, what about that power you promised us?" Suzaku tossed a scroll over his shoulder, not looking back. Takeshi caught it and opened it up. He smiled and gave a small bow to Suzaku.

"Thank you for your help," he said, "The Renegades will give you much more support than Ryu."

"Good," Suzaku said, "Because I would like three Andari shinobi under my command."

"Of course, Lord Suzaku," Takeshi replied, "On the condition that at least one of them is left to think for themselves." Suzaku nodded. "Expect to see your troops when the sun rises tomorrow. I will send you my finest men."

"Might I know their names?" Suzaku said.

"Of course," Takeshi said, "I'll send Terror, Silver, and Frostbite."

"Sounds like quite a team," Suzaku replied, "Now, must you be on your way, or do you wish to stay and watch?" Takeshi shook his head and vanished. Suzaku grinned and watched as the battle between Itachi and Sasuke continued.

Sasuke was in midair, and fire off a Dragon Fire Jutsu. Itachi rolled out of the way, being careful with his arm. Then he came in and punched Sasuke in the stomach, and backhanded him across the face. Sasuke stumbled back, and his curse mark half covered his body. He came in and hit Itachi with everything he had. He then kicked Itachi in the chin and sent him flying onto his back.

Itachi struggled and stood. His arm was bleeding profusely, and he was beaten to a bloody pulp. His eyes returned to their non-Sharingan state. He stared at Sasuke, a strange look on his face, a look of wonder and shock. However, all Sasuke saw was his brother, standing there, and years of hatred about to pay off. He made three hand signs, and a raging ball of lightning covered his hand.

Sasuke ran at Itachi at full speed. Itachi didn't have the current reflexes to move, nor did he even try. As Sasuke closed in on Itachi, he held his arm behind him, preparing for a jab.

"Chidori!!!"

_To be continued..._


	110. Single Solution

Sasuke stopped. His arm was thrust straight through his brother's chest. Itachi coughed up blood onto Sasuke's shoulder, then fell limp. Sasuke removed his arm and laid his brother onto the ground. Itachi was dead, blood dripping from the red mouth on his surprisingly peaceful face. Sasuke looked away and closed his brother's eyes. He then looked up to Suzaku, a single tear on his cheek, but his expression strong and stable.

"Alright," Sasuke said to Suzaku, "I won. But what will you have with me now?" Suzaku grinned and jumped from his watching point and landed in front of Sasuke. He smiled at him, and Sasuke stared straight into his eyes. Suzaku then closed his eyes and laughed, shaking his head.

"I'll have whatever I want with you," Suzaku said, "And had it not been for that last battle, you would have been dead within a second. No, you're too strong to kill. You will serve me."

"I will never," Sasuke said, "And before you try that brainwashing trick on me," he pulled off his arm warmers, revealing three paper bombs on each arm, "Well, it's your choice." Suzaku laughed maniacally.

"Sasuke," he said, "I think we both know that you don't have the guts to kill yourself, especially when I'll be just fine."

"Try me," Sasuke said, "I've served my purpose in life. Itachi's dead. I don't have anything keeping me alive anymore." He grinned. "Like I said, make your choice." Suzaku grinned.

"You know," he said, "I was expecting something like this to happen." He snapped his fingers, and two shinobi appeared, one holding onto Naruto, the other Sakura. Sasuke looked between them and Suzaku, and then growled. He ripped the bombs off his arm and they fell to the ground. "I thought so..."

"I'll go with you," Sasuke suddenly said, holding a kunai to his own throat, "But I get to watch them leave."

"Don't give in Sasuke!" yelled Sakura

"No!" Naruto shouted, "Don't do it Sasuke! Get out of here! Now!" Sasuke swallowed. He knew that if he tried to run that Suzaku would just kill him, and the other two. If he killed himself, Suzaku would kill the other two. The only way to save them was to give himself in.

"Well," Suzaku said, ignoring the others, "Playing it on the safe side, are we? Alright." He snapped his fingers again, and the shinobi released Naruto and Sakura. Naruto growled and came in to attack Suzaku, but Suzaku caught the fist. "Come on little bro," he said, "You're gonna bother trying that? You know you can't beat me. Now listen to Sasuke and run."

"Go Naruto," Sasuke said, "Unless you and Sakura leave, all three of us will end up dead. Just go." Naruto looked to Sasuke, then into Suzaku's eyes.

"I swear Suzaku," Naruto growled, "I'll kill you for what you've done!" Suzaku stepped back, then Naruto looked to Sasuke. "You better be alright," he said. Then Naruto took off. Sakura, however, ran up to Sasuke. She wrapped her arms around him, and he held her tightly, as if protecting her.

"Sasuke," she sputtered through tears, "I'm not going to let you stay here!"

"You have to," he said, "Please. You have to go."

"No! Please, you can't stay!"

"I have to. I'm doing it for you and Naruto." Sasuke looked Sakura right in the eyes, a small tear in the corner of his eye. "Go. Don't waste this chance you have to get away. Go!"

"No!" Sakura gripped onto his shirt and buried her face in his chest. Sasuke broke contact and turned away.

"Sakura!" he said, "Don't you get it! Get out of here! I don't want you to stay! Leave me alone!"

"Sasuke!"

"Go!!" Sakura was crying badly now. She turned away and jumped out of the arena, vanishing in the surrounding forest. Sasuke fell to his knees, tears running down his face. Suzaku walked up behind him.

"That was pretty harsh," he said, grinning, "I almost believed that you hated her. But let me guess, you would say anything to save her? Is that it?" Sasuke didn't reply. Suzaku sighed. "So sappy," he said, "You're a real bore sometimes Sasuke, you know that?" At that, Sasuke stood up. He whipped around and punched Suzaku across the face, making Suzaku stumble back.

A grin crossed Suzaku's face, and he palm heeled Sasuke in the forehead, sending Sasuke flying back against the wall of the arena. A mark appeared on his forehead, which smoked and vanished. He fell limp crumpled onto the ground. Then Suzaku looked to the body of Itachi on the ground. "Looks like you were right Itachi," he said, "He really is stronger than you."

* * *

Sasaku stood in a rocky field across from the four-tailed host, Roushi. His chakra faded from his body, and he slumped a little. "I concede this victory to you," Roushi said, "Holder of the blades."

Sasaku released his breath and smiled. He changed the hidden blades back into swords and stuck them into the ground. "Alright," he said, stepping back, "Let's do this!" Roushi and Sasaku made the same hand sign, and stones began to circle around the swords. They then formed a sphere above the swords. The sphere turned into a white tiger tail with red stripes. Then it condensed into chakra and shot into the swords. The swords changed into kama for a split second before returning to their original state.

"Thank you," Sasaku said, "I am glad that you could help me."

"As am I," Roushi said, "But now, I must depart. I wish you the best of luck on your mission." Sasaku nodded, and Roushi ran from the rocky field into the surrounding forest. Ino ran up and threw her arms around Sasaku.

"You did it!" she exclaimed, "You did it! That was amazing!" Sasaku smiled and kissed her. Ami and Ryu then walked up.

"So where to next?" Ryu asked. Sasaku shrugged.

"We'll have to see if the others have any information yet," he said, sheathing his katanas. He then starred at the rising sun. He smiled, and looked to Ino's warm face, glad to have her back.

_To be continued..._


	111. Ishimaru Beaten

Sasaku walked alongside Ino, with Ryu and Ami right behind them. They were talking and laughing and just being glad to be around each other. Then Ino grabbed Sasaku's arm and kissed him on the cheek. Ami smiled and glanced over to Ryu. He seemed completely indifferent as to what was going on just in front of him. _It must've taken a real toll on him,_ she thought, _To lose his brother like that..._

Just then, the ground began to shake. Ryu instantly drew his knife, and suddenly Ishimaru jumped from the ground under Sasaku. He punched Sasaku in the jaw, but Sasaku suddenly appeared behind him with the kama held to Ishimaru's neck. Ishimaru smiled. "You've gotten faster," he said. Then Ryu jumped in front of Sasaku, blocking a kunai.

Tobi then jumped out of the trees at Ryu, who deflected the attack Tobi came in with. He then swiped at Tobi, who dodged awkwardly. "Tee hee," he said, "You missed!" Ryu growled and thrust, but Tobi parried the arm and punched Ryu in the stomach. Then Ryu stumbled back, and his yellow aura covered his body. He then threw some at Tobi, who again dodged awkwardly.

Sasaku growled behind Ishimaru, turning on his Tomokenzan Kagamimanako. "Don't make me do this," he said, pressing the blade of the kama to his throat.

"I've seen you," Ishimaru said, "You wouldn't have the guts." Sasaku growled and pressed harder, but held there for a minute. When he relaxed just a little, Ishimaru elbowed him in the stomach. Then he was sent flying back when a boulder shot at him. He slammed into a tree, and was about to fall when a shell of stone stuck him on. Ishimaru squeezed, and Sasaku vanished in a poof of smoke.

He then appeared behind Ishimaru and punched him across the face with the chakra-loaded knuckles. Ishimaru was sent spiraling back until he landed in a river nearby. Ishimaru then lifted his arm, a whip of mud lashing about him. He tossed the whip at Sasaku, and it smacked him across the chest. He yelped out, and felt a sting where a welt was already forming. He shook it off, then came in with the knuckles again.

He hit at him, but Ishimaru dodged. But then Ino came in and punched Ishimaru in the jaw, sending him back. The attack left Sasaku enough of an opening to use the blunt end of his staff to nail Ishimaru in the stomach. Ishimaru clutched his stomach and then Ino backhanded him across the face. Then Sasaku got behind him and kneed him in the back.

Ishimaru fell foreword, and Ino elbowed him in the back of the neck, sending him to the ground. He lay there, panting. He looked up to Sasaku and Ino. "Well," he said, "What are you waiting for? Finish me."

Sasaku shook his head, then turned the staff into the hidden blades. "No," Sasaku said, "I would never kill my friend. Not like this." Ishimaru laughed and closed his eyes, pressing his face to the ground.

"Even after all this," he said, "For you to still consider me your friend... If you were such a great friend to me, then how come I can't remember you?"

"You can at least try," Sasaku said, walking towards the battle that was going to with Ryu. Tobi had practically beaten both Ryu and Ami, but he was pretty out of breath himself. Ryu and Ami lay in crumpled heaps on the ground. Ryu stood and ran at Tobi, full speed, his knife clutched tight in his hand. As he was about to stab Tobi, Tobi grabbed his hand and thrust the knife between Ryu's ribs.

Ryu stood strong, and glared straight at Tobi until he collapsed to the ground. Then Tobi suddenly whipped around and parried Sasaku's arm as he came in with the hidden blade. Sasaku growled and made a high kick to Tobi's face, which was grabbed, putting Sasaku in an upside-down position. With both of Tobi's hands occupied, he couldn't block Sasaku's other hidden blade as it slashed across his chest.

Then Sasaku flipped back around and kicked Tobi across the face. Tobi flew back, and fell to the ground. He struggled to stand back up, and when he did, he looked straight at Sasaku. His mask was cracked, and the area around his eye had chipped off. Staring at Sasaku was a strange, deep red Mangekyo Sharingan. _An Uchiha?!_ Sasaku thought.

Tobi then turned on his heel and sprinted off. Sasaku sheathed his swords, and stood there panting. He turned to look at Ishimaru, who was still lying on the ground. Then he looked at Ryu. Ino was treating his wound, while Ami sat by his head, stroking his hair back and whispering something under her breath. Sasaku walked over and kneeled by them. "Is he going to be alright?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," Ino said, "He should be fine. I was able to heal the wound for about an inch down, so there could be some complications, but unless I'm mistaken, when he wakes up he should be able to heal it on his own, right?" Sasaku nodded, then stood up. He walked over to Ishimaru.

"Alright," he said, "I want you to tell me everything you know about the Akatsuki." Ishimaru grinned.

"I'm the new guy, remember," he said, "I probably know just as much as you."

"What are they after?"

"World domination, which they can achieve through the usage of the ten tailed beasts out there. Even as we speak, the other members are searching for them."

"Where are the others?"

"Well, you know where the first four are. And I believe you also know where the Nine-Tailed Fox is, correct? Other than that, I wont tell you more, other then that you've been a real help in tracking them down."

"How are you using the tailed beasts?"

"I know about as much as you on that subject," Ishimaru said. He then pushed himself up and sat with his back against a tree. He looked at the ring on his finger and smiled. "Maybe a little more, but not by much. Now how about you answer some of my questions?" Sasaku drew his sword and held it to Ishimaru's throat.

"I don't think you're in the position to ask any questions," he said.

"Who was I before Sasori found me?" Ishimaru said.

_To be continued..._


	112. Renegade Help

Sasaku stared at Ishimaru in amazement. "Since when do you care about who you were before?" he asked.

"Since you've shown me such kindness," Ishimaru said, "Even in battle, when I'm trying as hard as I can to kill you, you never even consider killing me. You had the chance a minute ago to take my life. You would have taken it had I really been your enemy. But you spared me, knowing I'd attack the moment you relaxed. Why would you do this for someone who's been trying to kill you and steal those blades for the last few months?"

Sasaku grinned. He could see what Ishimaru was getting at. "It's because of who you were before," he said, "Who you were to us, to me and Karei. You were our teammate, our friend, and our comrade. We went through everything with you... we all did. We were there when you defeated your father. You were just a boy from the Stone Village with a knack for manipulating rocks, and we helped you to become a great shinobi."

Sasaku smiled. "Before this whole fiasco happened," he said, "You were actually getting ready for your Jounin exam. It's amazing how much you grew when you joined Team Storm. And then when Suzaku began to pull all this crap, you fought Gaara alongside me. I never would've beaten him had it not been for your help." A smile crossed Ishimaru's face as he lifted his head and looked at the sky.

"I believe you," he said. Sasaku looked at Ishimaru in surprise. "I don't remember any of this," he said, "But I believe you. Somehow, I just know you're sincere. Maybe that could be the reason I'm even alive right now." He looked at the ground, then at Sasaku. "I feel like such a fool. I have no memory, and I instantly believe the first thing I'm told. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you."

"Hey, don't worry about it Kai," Sasaku said, extending a hand, "You can make it up to me by helping me now." Ishimaru smiled and grabbed his hand. Sasaku pulled him up, and the two grasped each other's hands, grinning and staring into the eyes of the other. Ino watched and smiled.

"Good to have you back Ishimaru," she said. Ishimaru smiled and nodded in reply.

"Tell you what," he said, "I'm going to help you guys now. I don't know the exact location, but I know about the general whereabouts of the five tailed beast." Sasaku looked to Ishimaru intently as he spilled some of the information.

* * *

Suzaku stood at the village gate, Sasuke on his right, and Itachi on his left. Itachi kept glancing over at his brother, who stared blankly foreword. Suzaku grinned. "Still can't get over the fact that he killed that Life Clone of yours?" he said. Itachi nodded, then stood in attention when he saw three people coming in the distance. They made their way to the gate, and then went into a kneeling position before Suzaku.

"Suzaku-sama," the middle one said, "We are the soldiers given to you by the Andari Renegades. I am Frostbite, and these are Terror," he motioned to the large dark man on his right, "And Silver," he then motioned to the slim silver haired woman on his left, "They are here to become your loyal servants."

"And you, Frostbite?" Suzaku asked.

"I too am here to become your servant," Frostbite replied, "But at my own free will."

"Good," Suzaku said, "Now, follow me and we'll get down to business." He turned on his heel and began walking towards the Hokage mansion. Sasuke and Itachi followed swiftly, as did the three Andari. Frostbite walked up beside Suzaku.

"As we speak," he said, "Commander Undertow is dispatching Renegade soldiers to take care of Ryu. Before you know it, he'll be ours, and then you may do with him what you wish."

"Great," Suzaku said, "Can't wait. If he thinks I'm going to let him get away with betraying me, he's got another thing coming!" Suddenly, Ichigo walked around a corner and began walking by Suzaku. "I take it you have news on Sasaku?" he said. Ichigo nodded.

"There has been another contact made with the Akatsuki," he said, "It is recommended that you retrieve Sasaku immediately. Now would be the logical time to initiate the operation."

"Jeez," Suzaku said, "If these creeps don't give it a rest, they might actually succeed in getting Sasaku before we do. Itachi, why don't you go 'convince' Sasaku to come here."

"Yessir!" Itachi said, taking off. Ichigo then disappeared back around a corner and left Suzaku alone with Sasuke and the Renegades.

"Your plan," Frostbite said, "It seems a little complicated."

"Big plans only get harder with time," Suzaku said, "This one is no different, and it takes time. If I wait to long, and Sasaku gets to powerful, he may actually be able to beat me. Or he could be killed, or captured, or have ran away. However, if I go to early, Sasaku wont have gained enough power, and I'll have wasted a lot of time and effort, and have to continue what Sasaku is doing now.

"For this reason, I have every non-combat citizen of the village on surveillance of the status of every single person involved in this whole plot. Sasaku, the Akatsuki, Ryu, the Renegades, each of the tailed-beasts, along with each of the Kage, Naruto, Karei, and all of Sasaku's little friends. It's difficult to know what to do and when. Who to manipulate, and how."

"And you seem to be an expert at it," Frostbite said, "Congratulations. We only hope that we can assist you. It's all we can do for you, especially after what you've done for us."

"Yes," Suzaku said, "Just don't get to carried away with that jutsu."

"I wouldn't worry about us getting carried away," Frostbite replied.

_To be continued..._

**I can't tell, is this story taking to long? R&R!**


	113. Six Down

Sasaku thrust his swords into the ground. He backed off, and stared into the eyes of the host of the five-tailed beast. They made a hand sign, and then a dark brown substance rose from the ground and circled the swords. It then formed a sphere above the swords, which shifted into a white tiger tail. Then it shot into the swords, and the swords turned into a coiled chain for a second. A new mark appeared on the Kumori Tora. Once it was all finished, Sasaku picked up the swords.

"Thank you for your help," Sasaku said. The host nodded and vanished. Sasaku frowned and looked at the swords. He changed them into the chains. "Seriously," he said, "The best you could do for your sixth tail was chains?" He then changed the chain back into swords, and an aura of chakra oozed from it, manifesting itself in front of him. It then took the shape of the Kumori Tora, only it was about the size of an actual tiger.

"**Be grateful,**" it said, "**Not only for the weapon, but for the power.**" Sasaku stumbled back, and he heard a surprised exclamation from Ishimaru and Ino, who were nearby.

"What...?" Sasaku stuttered, "How... how are you doing this? How are you here?" The Kumori Tora chuckled.

"**This is merely a projection of myself,**" it said, "**I am not physically here. I couldn't leave the swords on my own. But with six tails, you are now able to summon me from the swords. I will be able to fight beside you, while still providing you with my limitless supply of chakra.**"

"You can do that?" Sasaku said, "How is it possible?"

"**Each of the Jinchuuriki can do it,**" the Kumori Tora said, "**But none of them have the sort of power to do so. The other demons work against their hosts, making it impossible to complete that sort of symbiosis. I, however, am bound to the will of the wielder of the blades. I am able to summoned, because I have been bound to your blood.**"

Sasaku nodded and stared at the Kumori Tora. "**And Sasaku,**" the beast said, "**Thank you for helping me to regain my tails.**" A look of absolute shock crossed Sasaku's face. Just the thought of a demon thanking a human, it was the most absurd thing Sasaku had ever heard of. The Kumori Tora faded into a blur of chakra and shot back into the swords.

Ino and Ishimaru walked up to Sasaku. Ishimaru stared at him in shock, while Ino grabbed his hands and kissed him while congratulating him. Sasaku smiled and kissed her back, then pulled her into a hug. He then looked up to Ishimaru and saw that he was still staring in amazement. "Yes?" Sasaku said.

"Sorry," Ishimaru said, shaking his head, "Akatsuki senses were tingling right there."

* * *

Ryu stood in the middle of a bloody clearing in the forest. The full moon shone in the middle of the sky, bright and yellow. Sasori lay panting at one end, and an Andari Renegade lay dead at the other end. Ami stood next to Ryu, who was standing with his knife drawn, blood dripping off the end. Ryu didn't have a scratch on him, while Ami was slightly beat up. Ryu walked over to Sasori and picked him up by the front of his shirt. His hand was surrounded by a yellow chakra.

"Before I kill you," he said, "I want you to tell me everything you know about the Jinchuuriki!" Sasori frowned and pulled a scroll from his cloak.

"Since I'm going to die anyways," he coughed, "It's only fair you get this." Ryu took the scroll, the yellow chakra fading from his hand.

"A wise choice," Ryu said. He then took the knife and stabbed Sasori through the heart with it. Sasori fell limp and Ryu placed him gently on the ground. He then closed Sasori's eyes and stood. In his hand was the ring of the Akatsuki. Ryu then clenched his fist and pocketed the ring. There were two inside his pocket, the one he'd just gotten, and Ishimaru's.

He then opened the scroll and looked at it. Inside were the locations and identities of the sixth and ninth tailed beasts. A look of shock crossed Ryu's face. "Naruto?!" he whispered to himself. He then shook his head and rolled up the scroll. "I wonder if Sasaku knows..." he muttered, putting the scroll into his pouch. Ami then walked up to him.

"Can we go?" she said, "I don't like being surrounded by..." She then shuddered and held onto Ryu's arm. Ryu nodded and led Ami out of the clearing. He could feel her shiver as she held herself close to him. Ryu walked slowly, and drew her in close.

"I'm sorry you had to be dragged into all of this," he said.

"Why are you sorry?" Ami asked, "I'm the one that insisted on coming, even though I could tell you and Sasaku didn't want me to. I just wanted to..."

"Hmm? To what?" Ryu asked. He looked down to Ami, who stared up at him.

"I just..." she said, leaning in closer to him, pressing her face on his arm, "Wanted to be close to you." Ryu looked at her, unknowing of what to say.

"I'm glad you did." Ami looked up to him. "Ever since we were young," Ryu said, "You've always been a friend to me, even when I had none. Thank you, Ami, for doing that for me."

"Ryu," Ami said, "I should be the one thanking you for that. You were my best friend. When we moved away all those years ago, it crushed me because I was going to be away from you. But, now, I think that friendship's turned into something... more..." Ryu stopped and looked directly at Ami, staring into her eyes. They leaned in closer, and closer...

Ryu suddenly blushed and pulled back. "We should set up camp," he said, turning his face away from Ami. As he walked away, she smiled and giggled to herself. She got so close, and yet so far. She smiled and happily walked along after Ryu.

_To be continued..._


	114. Itachi's Attack

**Foreshadowing, probably the only thing more annoying than a cliffhanger. You'll see what I mean. R&R!**

Naruto was jumping through the forest at top speed. Sakura tailed close behind him, tears in the corners of her eyes. As much as Naruto tried to tell her that Sasuke had said what he did to get rid of her, she was still in distress that he could say it. Naruto growled and ground his teeth; angry that Suzaku had captured Sasuke and there was nothing he could do about it.

They were traveling all over, trying to find Sasaku. He could at least help them to retrieve Sasuke. Naruto took a quick leap, sending him hurling forewords. Sakura kept an easy pace with him. _Suzaku,_ Naruto thought, _All this because you think you need to avenge our father?! He died with honor, for his village, like any shinobi would prefer. I swear Suzaku, if it takes everything I've got... I'll kill you!!_

* * *

_Suzaku stood in the street of Konoha, a dead body crumpled up next to him, and signs of an intense fight all around. A large crater was a ways away from him. It was charcoaled and flaming, with all the nearby buildings blast into rubble. Naruto, Ino, and Ishimaru all stood around the crater, looking in with absolute shock. Suzaku grinned. "So that's it," he said, "That's what you did."_

_ In the middle of the crater stood Orochimaru. He held the Kumori Tora and the Deomon Sword. "Ah, Suzaku," he said, "Aren't you happy to see me? It's been a year now, hasn't it? Maybe more? Well, the last we did battle, you held these blades. Now I shall kill you with your finest creations!"_

_ "You're not the only one who's gotten stronger," Suzaku said, "I've got a few new ticks up my sleeve too." Suzaku then formed a Burning Rasengan in his hand. Orochimaru grinned as well, and stared at Suzaku, his eyes a light pink in color, and veins throbbing at his temples. He formed a Rasengan in one hand, and a Chidori in the other. Suzaku laughed._

_ "Eat this!" Suzaku yelled, thrusting his hand foreword, "Burning Rasengan Cannon!" The Rasengan expanded and grew as it launched at Orochimaru. Orochimaru grinned and smashed his hands together. The Ultima Blast launched and collided with the Burning Rasengan Cannon..._

* * *

Sasaku was sitting with his back to a stump. It was the middle of the night, and Ino and Ishimaru were sleeping a small ways away. In Sasaku's eyes was the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako, watching for anything that could be a threat. He had become especially cautious ever since Ino had joined up with them, and even more so since Ishimaru came, since it was impossible to tell if he really was on their side.

Suddenly, Sasaku saw someone coming their way. He stood and clenched his fists, readying his hidden blades. Itachi suddenly jumped out of the bushes and came in as it to punch Sasaku. Sasaku couldn't react quickly enough, and Itachi was about to punch his across the face. But a sudden wall of earth blocked the attack. Sasaku turned to see Ishimaru standing at the ready.

"Goin' down!" Sasaku said, grinning. He dodged around the wall and punched Itachi in the stomach. Then Ishimaru sent a rock hurtling at him. Itachi split the rock straight in half, and then it turned to powder on either side of him. Then Itachi whipped around and fired off a Phoenix Flower Jutsu in all directions. Sasaku blocked the fire, as did Ishimaru. Sasaku then glanced over to where Ino was.

By now she was up and dodging the fireballs. Sasaku growled and charged in at Itachi. He stabbed with the hidden blade, and Itachi barely parried it. Then Sasaku roundhouse kicked Itachi in the jaw, sending him flying sideways. He crashed into a tree and was surrounded by smoke and dust. He then jumped out of the smoke to fast to see, and elbowed Ishimaru in the back of the neck.

Ishimaru blocked a few of Itachi's attacks, and Ino punched the ground. The earth erupted underneath her, heading for Itachi. He jumped up just in time to dodge, and the attack sent Ishimaru flying into the air. Then Ino jumped foreword and punched at Itachi. The attack was parried. Sasaku came in behind Itachi and kicked at him, but Itachi grabbed Sasaku's leg.

Then Sasaku spun himself around and kneed Itachi in the face. Itachi fell sideways, and Ishimaru shot Itachi into the air with a rock. Ino jumped up at him and punched, but Itachi blocked it. Then Ino ducked, and palmed Itachi in the chest, knocking him back. He fell back a little, and threw a load of shuriken at Ino. As they came at her, Sasaku jumped up and caught each of the shuriken, chucking them back.

Itachi latched onto a tree and flipped behind it, the shuriken sticking into the tree. Then Ino came at him and punched through the tree, forcing Itachi to retreat a few feet. Sasaku and Ishimaru stared at her in awe. "Dude," Ishimaru said, "Strong girlfriend." Sasaku nodded, staring at her wide-eyed.

Then Sasaku and Ishimaru shook their heads and jumped back in. Sasaku ran a few feet in front of Itachi, and Ishimaru a few feet behind. A pile of earth encased Itachi's feet, and Sasaku drew his katanas. Itachi struggled to escape from the earth. "Shadow Style:" Sasaku shouted, bringing his swords down, "Tsukigata Tsuki!"

The yellow waves of energy flew through the air, and slashed right through Itachi's chest. He flew back, and Ishimaru slammed him to the ground with his earth. Sasaku walked up to the motionless Itachi. He was dead, blood dripping from his mouth.

Sasaku sheathed the swords, then silently began walking away, Ishimaru and Ino following quickly. From behind a tree a hundred yards away, Itachi, the real Itachi, watched Sasaku walk away. He was completely undetected by Sasaku's Byakugan. Itachi pushed a button on the radio in his ear. "I don't think we need to worry," he said, "About the Akatsuki capturing Sasaku."

_To be continued..._


	115. On the Trail

Ryu and Ami were in a small town, searching for Sasaku. They'd heard he was nearby, and still needed to give him the scroll. Ryu was listening to the people all around. "Yeah," he heard a man telling another woman, "That Sasaku kid seemed nice enough, but he's a real mystery. His headband says rouge, but he says he intends to right the wrong done to the Leaf Village."

Ryu walked up to the man. "Sasaku," he said, "Do you know where he is?" The man looked at Ryu with a glare.

"How should I know where Sasaku is?" the man said, "I am only an innkeeper." Ami was about to say something, but Ryu held up a hand and silenced her.

"It's pretty important," Ryu said, placing some money on the table the man stood behind. The man looked around and pocketed the money, then shooed the woman away. The man leaned in to whisper.

"He told me not to say anything," the innkeeper said, "But he's heading due west of here. You better hurry if you want to catch him."

"Thank you," Ryu said, turning on his heel and leaving. Ami followed quickly. As soon as they left the town boundaries, they took off sprinting down the road. As Ryu looked around, he could detect a few signs of Sasaku's passing. The chakra of the Kumori Tora left a wake of chakra he could ever so faintly sense. Another advantage of the Andari clan, they could sense direct chakra from someone.

Ryu then felt the Kumori Tora a fairly close way ahead. He quickened his pace along the dusty trail, until finally he saw Sasaku over a hill. "Sasaku!" Ami called. Sasaku, Ishimaru, and Ino stopped and turned to see Ryu and Ami heading towards them. Ryu and Ami caught up, and Sasaku grinned at them.

"I take it you've got something for me," he said. Ryu nodded and took out the scroll.

"If I may discuss this with you in private," Ryu said, "I would prefer that." Sasaku nodded, a curious look on his face. Ino and Ishimaru started talking with Ami, and Ryu and Sasaku slipped off the path under a tree. Ryu unrolled the scroll partially, revealing the identity and location of the six-tailed host.

"Wow," Sasaku said, "This is great! We can find him so much easier now! Are there any more on this?" Ryu nodded, but hesitated in opening the scroll. "Well?" Sasaku said.

"I don't know whether or not you knew this..." Ryu said, unrolling the scroll, revealing Naruto as the host of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Sasaku's smile faded. He swallowed and looked down.

"Yeah, I knew," he said, "But I don't think I needed a reminder."

"You don't have to fight the fox," Ryu said, "Nine tails should be enough to defeat Suzaku." Sasaku shook his head, and Ryu realized that Sasaku was remembering how they hardly stood a chance with four tails. Ryu rolled up the scroll and handed it to Sasaku. "I suppose you should start moving," he said, "I'll see if I can get any more information."

"Safe travels," Sasaku wished, accepting the scroll. Ryu motioned to Ami, and she walked away from Ishimaru and Ino. The two of them then took off again. Sasaku then walked up to Ino and Ishimaru. "Alright guys," he said, "We gotta go back."

"What?!" Ishimaru said, "Are you serious?!"

"Apparently," Sasaku said, "We just barely past the host last week." Ishimaru smacked him in the back of the head.

"I told you we should've waited a while in that lake town!" he said.

"Oh, it's even further back than that!" Ino and Ishimaru both smacked Sasaku in the back of the head this time. Sasaku laughed and began strolling along back towards the town they'd barely left.

* * *

Suzaku sat in his office, when there was a knock at the door. He called for them to enter, and Frostbite walked in. "Sir," he said, "I have a request to make."

"A request?" Suzaku asked, "What kind?"

"Well," Frostbite said, "As you well know, me, Silver, and Terror are the best of the Andari Renegades behind Commander Undertow. Now Commander prefers not to do mission himself, and as you can see we have not had the best of luck in capturing Ryu. Keeping the circumstances in mind, I would like to ask that-"

"I send one of you three to capture Ryu?" Suzaku said. Frostbite nodded. Suzaku sighed and stood, staring out the window. After a minute, he sighed. "Well," he said, "I suppose you came to carry out tasks for me, and Ryu out of the picture will, of course, be to my advantage. I suppose I can send one of you."

"Thank you my lord," Frostbite said, "I am ready to-"

"I'm sending Terror," Suzaku said, "I want someone I have total control over to carry out this mission. He has already received the orders, and is ready to leave. Any more requests before I send him away."

"Yes," Frostbite said, "This is a very important matter, but we cannot afford to lose any of us. If you could set him so he will be sure to preserve himself in the case that anything goes wrong, it would be very much appreciated."

"Will do," Suzaku said, "He will not be as reckless as my usual's are." Frostbite nodded in thanks, and looked out the window to see Terror jumping over the roofs and outside the village. Frostbite then bowed and backed out of the room. Itachi walked in and threw himself down on the beanbag in the corner.

"So you really couldn't get him?" Suzaku said, "He's become that strong?"

"The three of them had killed me in about fifteen minutes," Itachi said.

"Those Life Clones," Suzaku said, "You're using them to casually."

"Like you're one to talk," Itachi smirked. Suzaku chuckled.

"That was then, as stupid a move as it was," he said, "I brainwash the Life Clones before they even have a chance to rebel. When I make them, they are the only things in the world as strong as I am. I would never risk one of them going against me."

"The Life Clones are created originally with the same memories and personality," Itachi stated, "As soon as they branch off, they have their own agency. My memories and my determination are set well enough that I know my mission and that I have to get it done."

"Well," Suzaku said, "Just don't get as careless as he did."

_To be continued..._


	116. Illusions

Sasaku, Ishimaru, and Ino all trekked along down the trail carved through the plain. The endless flatlands stretched on for miles, with mountains far to the north, and the dim outlines of towns and villages to the south and east. They were traveling in the direction of the sixth host, and had been traveling for hours. "Gah!" Sasaku exclaimed, "What is with this field?! It never ends!"

"I think that we might be stuck in a genjutsu," Ino said. Sasaku and Ishimaru turned to her, a little surprised.

"It's a pretty big field," Ishimaru said, "Are you sure it's just not..."

"I've studied the geography of the land," Ino replied, "There aren't any area's this big that don't have any settlements. It has to be a genjutsu." Sasaku swore and put a hand on his sword.

"You think you can disable it?" Sasaku asked.

"Maybe," Ino said, "But it feels pretty strong."

"Sasaku, why can't you do it?" Ishimaru asked. Sasaku shook his head, and Ino made a hand sign and closed her eyes. After a minute, she opened her eyes and put her hands at her side. "Well?" Ishimaru said.

"No good," replied Ino, "It's a super strong genjutsu. I can't find a weakness or a loophole. It's not just one person casting it, there's a group doing it."

"Is it from the Akatsuki?" Sasaku asked. Ishimaru shook his head.

"They wouldn't take so long to attack," Ishimaru said, "It you ask me, it's a group of rouge ninjas that want your sword."

"Then what are they waiting for?" Sasaku asked. Suddenly, a shadowy figure of a man appeared behind him. Sasaku whipped around, and the shadowy figure stabbed him through the chest with a strange red knife. Sasaku gasped, and fell to his knees. The figure disappeared, and Sasaku clutched at his chest. There was no wound.

Sasaku heard the faint shouts of Ino and Ishimaru. He opened his eyes, and looked up. There was nothing but blank darkness. Then all was quiet. Sasaku stood. He was alone, in a pitch black, completely empty void. He stood and looked around. "Where am I?" he asked aloud.

"You're in our world," echoed a voice, booming from all around. Sasaku growled.

"What do you want?" he shouted, "Why am I here?"

"Here, we are strong," a new voice said, "Here, we are the ones in control. Outside, we are strong, but not as strong. Not as in control."

"We want to be strong," a third voice said, "We want to be in control. We want to be able to crush all our enemies. The Kumori Tora, and the Demon Sword will give us that power. Promise us those swords, and we will release you from this prison. Reject us, and you will be killed." Sasaku reached for his swords, but they weren't there.

"This world," Sasaku said, "It's genjutsu, isn't it?"

"Oh, it is much more than genjutsu," said the first voice, "You are trapped inside your own mind, and we have total control. As one might call it, we're in a dream world." Six figures surrounded Sasaku, each one black and shadowy. They all stood, threateningly.

"A dream world," Sasaku said, "In my own mind..." He heard a growl from behind him. The Kumori Tora jumped out from behind him, and roared at the six figures. They all dissipated, and vanished. The Kumori Tora looked at Sasaku with his piercing eyes. Sasaku swallowed as the Kumori Tora circled him.

"**You are trapped here,**" he said, "**You were caught by their trap.**"

"Yeah," Sasaku said, "I think I noticed that! Now how do I get out?!"

"**It's your own mind,**" the Kumori Tora replied, "**You are strong here. All you need is to find that strength.**"

"Yes, but while I'm trapped here," Sasaku said, "What's going to happen with my body."

"_I think I,_" echoed a voice, "_Can help you with that._" Another dark shadowy figure emerged from the ground, this one with a purple aura about it. Sasaku stumbled back.

"You," he said, "You're the one... in my curse mark!" The figure nodded.

"_I can help you,_" the figure said, "_Like I did when Ryu trapped you._" The Kumori Tora growled at the figure.

"**Sasaku,**" it said, "**His chakra is not my own. The curse mark will deteriorate your body.**"

"_The same goes for a demon,_" the figure said, "_Just like the Kumori Tora swords, This mark was made for a symbiosis with the human body. Our chakra doesn't destroy, it adapts._" Sasaku looked between the Kumori Tora and the figure. He was stuck, trapped again in his own mind. He needed his body protected; that was his argument last time, and his argument this time. But Ishimaru and Ino could take care of that. They were strong. But, then again, this genjutsu could capture them too. He finally gave in, and nodded to the figure.

"Watch out for my body," Sasaku said, "And watch out for my friends." The figure chuckled and dissipated back into the ground. Then Sasaku turned back to the Kumori Tora. "So how do we fight these intruders?" Sasaku asked. The Kumori Tora responded with a deafening roar, one that echoed constantly.

Sasaku covered his ears, and on either side of him, flames flickered into existence. They brightened until Sasaku found himself standing in a torch lit hallway. There was water on the ground, and the walls ware grainy colored and had strange swirls on them. "**It's their world,**" the Kumori Tora said, "**But it's your mind. Fight them, until their genjutsu breaks.**"

"You're right," Sasaku said, "It's my mind." He opened his hands, and a bit of the water on the ground rose up to Sasaku's palms. The Kumori Tora and the Demon Sword materialized from the water, and Sasaku held them tightly in his hands. "Alright," he said, thrusting a hand in the air, "Let's do this!"

_To be continued..._

**It's not gonna make a lot of sense, but I need a subplot that sort of alludes a little to Sasaku's curse mark. R&R!**


	117. Umi

"Sasaku!" Ino shouted, holding his body in her arms, "Sasaku!" He hung limp, unconscious. Ishimaru was whipping his head around in every direction. He had felt the genjutsu lift as soon as Sasaku was stabbed. But what was wrong with him. He had no open wounds. Then why was he out cold? Ishimaru pressed his ear to the ground. Footsteps, four sets of them, coming fast.

"Incoming!" Ishimaru shouted. Ino looked up, and four figures appeared in the distance. Ishimaru made the sign of the snake. "Earth Style: Earth Manipulation!" he shouted, weaving even more hand signs, "Wood Style: Gyakujou Hayashi!" The ground shook with a certain excitement. Ino drew kunai and readied herself.

The four figures covered the distance with great speed. But, when they were within a quarter mile of them, they broke off from each other. Soon, the four shinobi stood in a circle around them. One of them extended her hand. "Hand over the swords," she said coolly, "And no one gets killed."

She stood facing Ino, a smirk on her face. Her skin was pale, almost sheet white. She wore a blue Rain bandana, the metal plate with a slash through it, her red hair spilling out from under it. She had on a dark green and yellow vest, with black sleeves covering her arms. Baggy blue pants accompanied the vest. Everyone else wore similar attire.

Ino growled at her. "What have you done to him?!" she said. The woman laughed.

"It shouldn't take to long," she said, "The others will have him out in no time. All you have to do is give us the swords!" Ino looked to the swords, then almost considered it, thinking it would save Sasaku. Suddenly, she saw a red line shoot up from under Sasaku's glove up his arm.

_The curse mark!_ She had to stall, give the mark time to animate Sasaku. "Ishimaru!" she yelled, "Shell! Now!" Ishimaru knew what she meant. The four shinobi jumped up right at them, and Ishimaru slammed his hands to the ground. Earth and roots shot up and formed a thick shell around them. They could hear the attempts to penetrate the barrier, but none of them worked.

"How long do I need to hold this?" Ishimaru asked.

"Not to long," Ino said, "We'll have help in a minute." She watched as the mark slowly inched across Sasaku's face.

* * *

Sasaku slowly walked down the torch lit corridor, the Kumori Tora striding calmly next to him. Sasaku watched him from the corner of his eye. He wondered if it would be anything like this if he were to use the jutsu the Kumori Tora gave him to summon him into the real world. He shuttered, thinking of how fierce a fighter the Kumori Tora would be.

As they came through the corridor, it came to an abrupt ending and a door. One shadowy figure appeared on the door. "Stop!" it commanded, "That's far enough!" Sasaku grinned.

"What?" he said, "Is this where you are hiding?"

"We would simply prefer not to have to kill you," the figure said, coolly. Sasaku gulped, but hid his fear.

"And just might what I be getting myself into beyond this door?"

"Our minds," the figure said with a laugh, "The ones trapping you. If you lose in the fight beyond this door, you will die. However, I want you to think about it. If we are somehow killed in there, then we would simply be excluded from the jutsu. Our risk is close to nothing, but yours is everything. You can give up the swords, wait for your friends to give them up, or go past the door. Your choice."

Sasaku grinned. "Well," he said, "I don't give up, and I don't really like waiting." There was laughter as the figure vanished. "Come on," Sasaku said, making the katanas into hidden blades, "Let's do it!" He grabbed the door handle and twisted it. The door opened, and Sasaku found himself surrounded by a bright light that emitted from the doorway.

The light slowly faded, and Sasaku found himself in a grassy field. He stood on a hilltop, under a tree. Just barely to the east, there was a beautiful sea. Sasaku stared out over it. He wondered how this in any way was hostile. His question was suddenly answered when he heard a whisper in his ear. "Wrong choice."

Sasaku was flung backwards from a punch to the face. He stood up and looked at whoever had punched him. He was a young man, shorter than Sasaku, with aqua colored hair. Five others appeared behind him. There was a dark haired kunoichi, a large hulking brute of a man, two small twin boys, and a tall, slim, red haired man that appeared to be their leader.

Sasaku glared at them. The boy that had punched Sasaku smirked. "And we thought he would be a challenge," he said, "Shuhan, with your permission, I would like to be this boy's opponent," the boy said.

"Don't get overconfident Umi," the leader, Shuhan, said, eyeing the Kumori Tora, "Remember, he has the power of ten tails."

"Tch, how much damage can he do here?" Umi replied. Sasaku readied the hidden blade, then took a step foreword. The Kumori Tora stepped up next to him. It growled deep in its throat. Sasaku didn't know what to expect in this fight. Would he still have all his abilities? Would he lose some? Gain some? And what about Umi? How strong would he be?

Umi chuckled, and the others turned and began walking. "We'll be watching," said the kunoichi.

"Don't screw this up," the large shinobi said. Umi laughed, and once the others were out of sight, the scenery suddenly changed. Sasaku looked around. The place they were just standing was suddenly in the west, and they stood right on the beach, Umi with his back to the sea.

"Come on," Sasaku said, "You're not ready for this!"

"You have no idea..." Umi chuckled, when a great wave suddenly rose behind him. Water began to circle him, and it lashed around like some sort of wild animal. The Kumori Tora crouched and growled.

"**Get ready for this!**" it said.

_To be continued..._


	118. Cursed Help

A great wave rose up into the air, and as Umi laughed, it crashed down over him, hiding him in the waters. Sasaku stared up in awe as the tsunami slammed into him. He was thrown back and held his breath as the torrent sent him twirling. After what seemed like an eternity, the water receded and Sasaku got himself on his hands and knees gasping for breath. He looked up and saw Umi hovering in the air above the water.

There was a growl, and the dripping wet Kumori Tora went charging at Umi. The boy chuckled, and another wave began to crash down. Sasaku watched as the wave closed in on the Kumori Tora, but at the last second, it let out a roar, and the wave burst. A look of shock crossed Umi's face as the Kumori Tora leapt at him. However, the tiger just passed through Umi as he melted into water.

Sasaku watched as the Kumori Tora landed on the water. It turned around and saw Umi grinning fiercely at it. Then another wave came and tackled the Kumori Tora back onto the beach. It shook itself off, and Sasaku ran up next to it. "Shadow Style:" he shouted, "Tsukigata Tsuki!"

He fire off the yellow beams of crescent energy. Umi moved out of the way, but one caught his arm. A small wound appeared where it hit. Before Sasaku could launch another one, Umi had made another wave attack them. It was about to strike when the Kumori Tora roared and Umi stood floating in the air again.

Sasaku tried to hit Umi with another Tsukigata Tsuki, but the wave blocked him. It fell over him and the Kumori Tora, and they tumbled back. The water went back into the ocean, and as Sasaku was coughing and gasping for air, he had an idea. "Hey," Sasaku said, "On my mark, I want you to roar again." The Kumori Tora nodded its head. Another wave began to form. It started to crash down, and had just passed over Umi again.

"NOW!" Sasaku yelled. The Kumori Tora roared right as Sasaku slashed down with the blades. The crescent energy of the Tsukigata Tsuki came at the wave, and the wave burst right before the energy hit. Umi looked in shock, and he was struck by the attack. Two slashes appeared in his chest, and blood began dripping from his body. He fell from the sky and landed on the water.

Umi then looked up at Sasaku. Sasaku's face was right in his, and a sword was stabbed through his chest. Sasaku backed up and removed the sword, twirling it and sheathing them both. Umi fell foreword and sank into the water. Sasaku walked back onto land, next to the Kumori Tora. The other five from before appeared.

"Well," Sasaku said, "Who's next?" Shuhan smiled.

"We're not as foolish as Umi," he said, "Now, are you ready to die?!"

* * *

Ino watched as Sasaku's body became completely covered by the mark. Ishimaru swallowed. "I think I remember this happening," Ishimaru said, "Won't he kill us too?" Ino shook her head.

"We don't have a choice now," she said. Sasaku lay there with his pale skin and white hair. His fingernails were sharp, and his knuckles were spiked. His eyes opened, revealing his Byakugan and Sharingan. He stood, and looked around. He looked to Ishimaru and made a motion to lower the barrier. Ishimaru nodded and dropped the shell.

The four shinobi stood around them, and they each had a look of shock when they saw Sasaku. He looked around at them all. Fire suddenly gathered in his palm. He lashed out and the fire shot at one of the shinobi. He was struck and flew back, severely burned. Then Sasaku appeared next to another one. He smashed him in the stomach, and then grabbed his hair and threw him to the ground.

The other shinobi and the kunoichi took the opportunity to attack Ino and Ishimaru. Ishimaru ducked under a punch and then caught the man in a cocoon of earth and roots. Ino kicked the kunoichi in the stomach, then punched her onto her back. She didn't get back up. "You know," Ino said, "I was expecting more of a challenge."

"Man," Ishimaru said, "I'm going to have to admit, that was pretty disappointing." Sasaku grabbed the other two and threw them into a little heap in the middle of them all. Ino then took out a kunai and held it to the kunoichi's throat.

"Who's holding Sasaku like this?!" Ino demanded, "Let him out now!"

"What are you going to do if we don't?" the kunoichi taunted.

"I've killed before," Ino growled, "You think I'd make you an exception? Release him!" The kunoichi squirmed. Ishimaru gave Ino a surprised look, but she took no notice. She wanted to make sure Sasaku was okay, no matter the cost.

"I won't tell you!" the kunoichi finally said. Ino smacked her and pressed the kunai against her throat. But Sasaku motioned for her to stop. He walked up to the kunoichi and pressed his palm to her forehead. A disoriented look came across her face. After a second, Sasaku removed his palm, and the woman collapsed.

"About four kilometers north," he said, "In a cabin. There are six of them."

"That's who is holding you?" Ino asked. Sasaku shook his head.

"Not me," he said, "Sasaku." He then began walking in the direction he'd described. Ino and Ishimaru followed him, leaving the group behind. Suddenly, one of the shinobi burst up and ran at them. He was about to attack Ino. She whipped around in time to see a kunai about to stab her.

Then Sasaku instantly slashed through him, and the man fell onto the ground in two pieces. Ino looked at Sasaku in shock. "I'm bound to my word," Sasaku said, before turning back around and darting towards the cabin. Ishimaru and Ino looked to each other, then darted after Sasaku.

One of the shinobi on the ground pulled a walkie-talkie off his hip. "If anyone's out yet, they're coming right for you!"

There was a couple seconds of silence, and then Umi's voice came on the radio. "Thanks, I'll keep an eye out."

_To be continued..._


	119. Easy Ones

Sasaku looked at all of the shinobi in front of him with worry in his eye. He put a hand on his swords, and without them noticing, he turned them into the hidden blades. The kunoichi suddenly ran at Sasaku as full speed. He stuck out his hand and his hidden blade instantly killed her. Then one of twins shot a fireball at him. He ditched the body and jumped into the air, over the fireball.

Then the other twin launched a swirling blast of ice at him while he was in midair. Sasaku smashed through it easily and landed. He glanced at the Kumori Tora, and then the tiger charged at the twins. They shouted and the Kumori Tora landed on the one that launched the fire. The body sunk into the ground, and the Kumori Tora slashed through the other one. He also disappeared into the ground.

"Wow," Sasaku said with a grin, "I've really got to stop overestimating my opponents." Shuhan and the large shinobi growled. Sasaku chuckled. "Even in a world where you're in control," he said, "I'm still stronger. Now, would you care to let me out?"

Shuhan made a hand sign, and then the air became dense. Sasaku could tell that something big was about to happen. He looked up, and saw dark clouds beginning to gather. The large man put a hand on the ground. A shell of earth gathered on him, like a heavy armor. It covered his face, and then hardened into a flat, shining brown surface. The armor then began to take shape so it had sharp points.

Once he was done, the armor looked frighteningly strong. Then the large man jumped at the Kumori Tora. It slashed at him, but it had no effect. Then he smashed the Kumori Tora in the nose, sending it flying back. Sasaku made the blades into the chain and began to swing it around. A black chakra covered it. He lashed it at the armored man and ended up knocking him sideways.

_This thing's better than I thought,_ Sasaku thought. He then swung it around again and smashed down, catching the man's arm. A small piece of the armor chunked off, but was instantly replaced. The armored man jumped back behind Shuhan, and Sasaku lashed sideways at him. But, Shuhan caught the chain. He gave it a quick tug and Sasaku came flying foreword.

Sasaku changed the chain into the knuckles and, using the momentum from being pulled, punched Shuhan in the chest. Even with black chakra focused into the knuckles, it did little more then send Shuhan stumbling back a step. Shuhan looked Sasaku in the eyes. He was their leader; of course he was going to get all of the power in this world. Sasaku decided he needed to hurry up and get rid of the armored man.

He switched the knuckles with kama and charged at the brute. He slashed the man in the arm, then kicked him back and stuck one of the kama into his face. He pulled it out and the man fell foreword and sunk into the ground. "And now that the easy one's are out of the way..." Sasaku said with a grin, turning to Shuhan.

"Now I get all their power," Shuhan finished. Sasaku gulped.

"Not the response I was looking for," he muttered to himself. Suddenly, Shuhan appeared next to Sasaku and smashed him sideways. The Kumori Tora jumped at him, but with a wave of his hand, the tiger went flying back, as if thrown by some invisible force. Sasaku stood up and chancged the kamas back into katanas.

"Eat this!" Sasaku yelled, "Shadow Style: Tsukigata Tsuki!" It came at the Shuhan, but then he held out his palm towards it, and it burst and was gone. Shuhan chuckled.

"You really have no idea what you're messing with."

* * *

Sasaku, Ino, and Ishimaru all ran in the direction that Sasaku had indicated. The cabin was just barely ahead. When they arrived and stopped in front of the cabin. Umi jumped out in front of them. Ishimaru and Ino took fighting stances, but Sasaku just stared at him for a second. "No threat," he muttered.

Umi growled and came charging in. Sasaku moved in with an uppercut to Umi's stomach. Umi coughed up blood on Sasaku's shoulder, then passed out sideways. Soon three more shinobi appeared, one after the other. Each one Sasaku eliminated in one or two moves. A large brute came out of the building next. Sasaku suddenly fell to his knees. "Time... up..." he groaned, falling foreword.

Within a few seconds, Sasaku had returned to normal, but he was still unconscious. Ishimaru gulped and watched as the brute ran at them. The others might have been no threat to Sasaku, however this one appeared like he could keep Ino and Ishimaru busy. He swung a punch at Ishimaru, who ducked under it. Then he kneed Ishimaru in the chest, and a loud crack sounded.

Ishimaru fell on his back, groaning in pain. Then the man looked over at Ino. She drew a kunai and threw it at him, a paper bomb tagged onto it. The man caught the kunai, and the bomb went off in his face. The smoke cleared, and there stood the brute, completely unfazed. He then began to run at Ino. She ducked under his punch and hit him in the stomach, focusing all of her chakra into her arm.

The man bent over a little with a grunt, and then lashed out with his arm, sending Ino sprawling backwards. She rolled and then stood, getting up just in time to jump sideways to dodge the brute's fist. It hit the ground and an explosion of dust shot up. Ino could only dodge as the large shinobi constantly made assaults on her. Then he kicked Ino, and she flew back and slammed into a tree. She fell foreword with a groan as the brute slowly began advancing on her.

_To be continued..._


	120. Shuhan

Ryu and Ami were traveling along a trail. Suddenly, a kunai with a paper bomb stuck between Ryu's feet. He jumped sideways, grabbing Ami by the wrist as he flung himself. The explosion sent them spiraling into the trees. Then a Dragon Fire Jutsu shot just to the left of where they were in the trees. Ryu growled and his yellow chakra began to surround him. Then Terror jumped out of the other side of the trail.

"Another Renegade!" Ryu said, "Ami, stay hidden!" Ami nodded and backed into the trees. Ryu flung his arm and threw some of his chakra at Terror. It struck dead on, but then a green chakra leaked from the injury, healing it instantly. Ryu jumped in at him, and then Terror punched at Ryu, knocking him back. Ryu looked up, and fire had surrounded Terror's fists.

He punched at Ryu, who ducked and punched Terror in the stomach. Terror stumbled back, a dull, lifeless look in his eyes. Ryu swore. He knew that this was Suzaku's doing. He took his knife and slashed at Terror, but Terror jumped back, just out of range. Then he came in and punched Ryu across the face. Ryu flew back, then launched the whole body of his yellow chakra at Terror.

It struck dead on, sending him flying backwards. Then, as the chakra slowly reappeared, Ryu made some hand signs, then bit his thumb and pressed the blood to the ground. Ryu turned to look at Ami. "Get out of here!" he yelled, "Go! I'll find you later, just run!" Ami dared not to disobey. She turned and fled.

The Osore appeared. Terror looked up at it, and then the blank look quickly left his eye. He began to shake, and then let out a shout of fear. Ryu looked at him in shock. Looks like it was right, strong emotions could break the jutsu. Then Osore lifted one beastly leg and pierced Terror through the heart.

Terror slumped over, and Osore removed its spiked leg. It let out a roar of triumph before melting into the ground. Ryu walked over to Terror and closed his eyes. "You Renegades will never get my power," he said.

* * *

Sasaku watched as heavy clouds gathered overhead, and a smile crossed Shuhans face. Lightning began to strike, and as Sasaku looked, he noticed a cyclone beginning to form above Shuhan. The clouds began to lower and swirl around him. The tornado formed, and then Shuhan vanished within it. "Oh great," Sasaku muttered. The Kumori Tora growled and let out a roar at the tornado. Some of the clouds moved and revealed Shuhan.

"**Just like Umi!**" the Kumori tora growled. Sasaku nodded, and his blades glowed yellow as he readied the Tsukigata Tsuki. The Kumori Tora roared, and Sasaku slashed with the blades. Just as the crescents were about to strike Shuhan, they were obliterated by the tornado. Sasaku gulped.

"Okay, maybe not just like Umi," he said. Then the tornado began moving towards them. Sasaku applied chakra to his feet to keep him on the ground. He held his arms up in front of him, and his clothes began whipping around him wildly. His swords wanted to slip from his grasp, so he changed it to the chain to get a better hold on it. Suddenly, one end of the chain removed itself from Sasaku's grip and began spinning towards the tornado.

"Shoot!" Sasaku watched as the chain unraveled itself and the end flew towards the tornado. It plunged itself in, then stopped suddenly. A quizzical look crossed Sasaku's face. The tornado suddenly stopped, and Shuhan floated in the air, the chain wrapped around him, binding his arms. Sasaku then yanked on the chain, and Shuhan flew foreword towards him.

As Shuhan flew, the Kumori Tora jumped up and hit Shuhan hard into the ground. He swore and stood, coughing up some blood on the way. Sasaku switched the chain back into the swords, then came in at full speed. The wind began to swirl around Shuhan. "Lightning Style:" Sasaku yelled, "Ninja Blade!" Electricity began to cover the blades.

Just as the tornado began to form, Sasaku jumped into it and struck Shuhans chest. He looked into Shuhans eyes with a grin. "Don't mess with the best," he said, pulling the blades out. Shuhan collapsed, and then all of Sasaku's surroundings shattered, and he was in a pitch-black void. Sasaku glanced over to the Kumori Tora. It let out a triumphant roar and faded into the darkness, along with the roar.

As Sasaku stood in the blackness of the void, the chakra of the curse mark appeared before him. "_I've kept my promise,_" it said, fading as well. Sasaku grinned, then closed his eyes. He felt himself lying on the ground, and heard Ino's shout as she was kicked into the tree by the brute. He opened his eyes and watched as the slowly advanced on her. He turned the swords into knuckles, then let out a battle cry as he jumped at the brute.

The large shinobi had barely turned before Sasaku punched him in the jaw, the Kumori Tora's chakra pouring from the knuckles. He went flying sideways until he fell through the wall of the cabin. Shuhan stepped out from the hole in the wall. "Enkou Sasaku," he said, "You really are a mystery. You're the first person to ever make it out alive."

"Tch," Sasaku said, "You call that hard. I call that a warm up." Shuhan glared at him, then took off in the other direction. Sasaku walked over and took Ino's hand. He helped her up, then wrapped her in a tight hug. He kissed her on the cheek, then released the embrace and looked over to Ishimaru. "Hey, you okay buddy?" he called.

"Yeah, I'm good," he called, standing up, "Just he just cracked my armor a little and shook me up with that kick, but I'm good."

"Good to hear," Ino said, "Now come on, let's go get that seventh tail!"

_To be continued..._


	121. Going After Sasuke

Sasaku stood across from the host of the six-tailed beast. The swords were stuck into the ground between them. They both made a hand sign, and chakra began leaking up from the ground. It gathered above the swords in the form of a tail. The chakra dissipated, and there floated a white tiger tail with red stripes. It then turned into a sphere of energy, and launched itself into the blades.

For a second, the blades flashed into gauntlets, and then back into swords. "Thank you," Sasaku said. The six-tailed host nodded, then turn off and left. Sasaku picked up his swords, and Ino ran up and threw her arms around them. They were in a thin forest, and light trickled down between the trees. It was morning, and there had been a rain the night before. Everything looked and smelled new and fresh.

Sasaku hugged Ino, and buried his face in her hair, enjoying everything about her for the short moment. Then they released and turned to see Ishimaru watching them. They both blushed and looked away. "Well," Ishimaru said, clapping his hands together, "If you two lovebirds are done, Naruto and Sakura should be here in a few seconds."

Sasaku gave him a quizzical look, and then Naruto and Sakura landed on the ground a small distance from where they were. He was about to say something, but then he realized that something was wrong. Sakura looked as if she had been crying, hard. Naruto ran at them at full speed. He stopped just short of Sasaku, then bent over and began breathing heavily.

"What is it Naruto?" Sasaku said, "What's wrong?"

"Suzaku..." Naruto panted, "He's got... Sasuke!"

"What?!" Sasaku exclaimed, "How?! What happened?!"

"There's no time to explain!" Naruto said, "We've got to go! Now!" Sasaku looked to Ishimaru and Ino. "Look!" Naruto continued, "When Sasuke went to the village three weeks ago, he was captured by Suzaku and put under the brainwashing jutsu! We've been trying to find you since then! Please, help us get him back! He is completely at Suzaku's mercy!" Sasaku gave another look to Ino. She nodded.

"Alright," Sasaku said, "If we hurry, we can make it back by tonight! Naruto, you and Sakura go to the town about a mile west of here. You need rest."

"No," Naruto said, "I have to settle this with my brother!" Sasaku stared into Naruto's eyes. Finally, he nodded.

"Sakura," Sasaku said, "You go. Karei and Hinata are there right now. If all goes well, we'll be back for you in at least two days." Sakura nodded, then began walking in that direction. Sasaku could tell that something had taken a huge toll on her. "Alright," Sasaku said, "Let's move!"

* * *

Suzaku stared out his window in the Hokage office. Suddenly, he saw a large ball of fire shoot from on top of the wall. He jumped out the window, and held out his palm. The fireball exploded on contact. Itachi and the brainwashed Sasuke jumped out after him. Suzaku looked at the wall and saw Sasaku and Naruto standing there. From clear across the village, Sasaku saw Suzaku grin wildly.

"Both of you," he said, "Stay inside. I've got this one. I need to test the boy's power." Itachi nodded, and he and Sasuke went back in. Suzaku jumped and landed on the wall just between them. They continued facing towards the center of the village, and he faced outwards. "You're both idiots," he said, "I hope you realize that."

"Where's Sasuke?" Sasaku asked. Suzaku chuckled.

"I'll make you a deal," he said, "If you prove your strength to me, I'll release your precious Sasuke." At that, Sasaku instantly lashed at Suzaku with the hidden blade. It barely cut his arm. Then Naruto kicked Suzaku in the back. The chakra of the fox had already made three tails appear, which was enough to actually get a grunt out of Suzaku. Then Sasaku spun around and backfisted him across the face. A black aura had covered him, and the seven tails of the Kumori Tora were lashing about him.

Suzaku was surprised when this actually knocked him off the wall. He fell to the ground, and looked up. _Well,_ he thought, _This one might actually need some effort._ Naruto jumped down off the wall, a Rasengan in his hand. He swung it at Suzaku, but Sukzau dodged just in time. It caused a crater to appear in the ground, and then a cloud of dust to surround them.

Sasaku jumped down as well, this time with the knuckles. Naruto jumped up onto the wall just as Sasaku entered the cloud of dust. He struck the ground, and made the crater much larger, sending much of the ground actually shooting into the air, as well as busting the walls of some of the nearby buildings.

Sasaku looked around with the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako, and saw Suzaku standing a few meters away. He then lashed at him with the chain, binding him. He yanked the chain, and sent Suzaku flying through the air. Suzaku left the cloud of smoke, and Naruto instantly hit him in the face with a dropping axe kick. Suzaku flew back into the cloud of smoke.

Sasaku then caught Suzaku in the stomach with his arm and flung him around. Suzaku went flying back through a building. Sasaku followed him quickly, using the knuckles again. He came in at Suzaku, and landed a punch right in his stomach. Suzaku flew back through the wall, and then through two more. Suzaku pulled himself from a hole he made in the wall, and looked up just in time to see Naruto coming in at full speed.

Naruto kicked him in the side, then took Suzaku's head and brought it down to his knee. Suzaku almost fell foreword, when Sasaku grabbed him with the gauntlet and threw Suzaku. Then Sasaku made throwing motions with the gauntlets, and shuriken made with the chakra of the Kumori Tora shot at Suzaku. Each shuriken left a little bit of a burnt cut on Suzaku.

Suzaku fell to the ground and landed on one foot and one knee. He stood up as if nothing had happened. He grinned. "My turn."

_To be continued..._


	122. Dark Return

**You remember back in chapter 114 when I did that foreshadowing thing? Good because neither do I. R&R!**

Suzaku grinned wildly, and then came in at Sasaku. Sasaku was barely able to dodge the attack. Then Suzaku kicked him back into a building. Then Naruto jumped at Suzaku, but Suzaku hit him with a Burning Rasengan. Next thing Suzaku knew, a large root shot from the ground and wrapped his ankles. Suzaku looked at it with shock, then looked up. He saw Ino fire off a mind transfer at him.

Suzaku made a hand sign. The mind transfer was deflected, and went right back into Ino. A look of shock crossed her face. Then a large boulder fell from the sky down on Suzaku. He broke free of the roots, then spun up into the air, drilling a hole straight through the boulder. He then saw Ishimaru standing on the wall of the village.

"You all just don't get it," Suzaku laughed, "Even with all of your combined powers, you can never beat me!" Sasaku growled and dove at Suzaku, holding the swords out. The curse mark had begun to leak out, right alongside the chakra of the Kumori Tora. But Sasaku knew it still wasn't enough. He thrust the swords at Suzaku, barely missing. Then Naruto came in and landed a swipe across Suzaku's cheek.

Suzaku punched Naruto across the face, and then Ino came in and landed a punch on Suzaku. It did absolutely nothing. Suzaku kneed her in the stomach, and then punched her across the face, sending her flying back through a building. "INO!" Sasaku yelled. The curse mark instantly spread all the way to his second form. He landed a punch on Suzaku, and it barely sent him a step back.

Suzaku seemed surprised that he could even do that much. He looked at Sasaku. This time, it wasn't the curse mark in control. It was him. Sasaku turned the swords into a chain and whipped it at Suzaku. Instead of wrapping it around though, Sasaku used his chakra to make the chain stiff. It sent Suzaku flying sideways.

Then Sasaku changed them back into the swords. He shot off one Tsukigata Tsuki after another, each one just barely missing the always-grinning Suzaku. But then, Sasaku appeared next to Suzaku, and stabbed him through the left shoulder. A look of shock crossed Suzaku's face. Suzaku hit Sasaku in the stomach with a Burning Rasengan, and jumped back. Suzaku instantly began healing his shoulder.

As soon as it was healed, Suzaku grinned. "Well, that curse mark and the chakra seem to be your trump, huh?" he said, "Well, I just happen to have a trump of my own!" Sasaku watched as someone stepped out next to Suzaku. His eyes widened, and he watched in horror. It was Ichigo. Ichigo pulled out a kunai and held it to his own throat. "Stand down," Suzaku said.

Sasaku growled. The chakra of the Kumori Tora faded, and then the curse mark went all the way back down. He sheathed the swords. Naruto, Ino, and Ishimaru all gathered a distance away from Sasaku, Sasaku sheathed his swords. "Alright," he said, "You've got me. Now just let my brother go." Suzaku smirked.

"You're not in a position to be making those demands," he said, "I think I'm going to kill your brother just to prove to you how powerful I am. Go on Ichigo..." Ichigo was about to slit his own throat, but hesitated. He looked right into the eyes of Sasaku, who stared at his brother's blank eyes, pleading with him. Something shattered in Ichigo, and instantly he was released from the jutsu.

"Sasaku..." he said. He then threw the kunai into the ground. Everyone looked at him in surprise. "Suzaku!" Ichigo shouted, "I'll kill you for this!" He ran full speed at Suzaku.

"NO!" Sasaku called, "Ichigo stop!" But Ichigo kept running. Suzaku smiled and pulled his own kunai out. As soon as Ichigo reached him, he grabbed Ichigo and held the kunai to his throat.

"Now Sasaku," Suzaku said, "Watch what happens when you try to defy me."

"No..." Sasaku said, "No! Please, don't!" Suzaku grinned and threw Ichigo foreword. He took a few steps, then turned around to angrily face Suzaku. But Suzaku threw the kunai, and it passed straight through Ichigo's chest. Then Suzaku appeared behind Ichigo and grabbed the kunai. Ichigo slowly fell to the ground, landing on his stomach. There was a gaping hole in his back.

Sasaku stared in shock. Then he looked to Suzaku.

"You..."

His eyes traveled back to Ichigo's dead body.

"You..."

Once again, his eyes met the wild face of Suzaku's.

"You..."

He saw Suzaku grin.

"You!"

His mind flashed back to when Tsunade was killed, and every single thing that Suzaku had done in between.

"YOU!"

He stopped on the image of the kunai piercing Ichigo's chest, that one part replaying over and over in his mind.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Sasaku was instantly surrounded by all of the Kumori Tora's chakra. Then it mixed in with the purple chakra of the curse mark. Which instantly began spreading over Sasaku. Within a second, he had reached the second level of his curse mark. But, once again, the curse mark began spreading, this time the palest white possible.

Once the mark completely spread, there was an explosion of chakra. It blew outward for a long way, and knocked back Ino, Naruto, Ishimaru, and even Suzaku. A giant crater was made, and it was burning. All the surrounding buildings had been blown to rubble. Once the smoke cleared, Naruto, Ino, and Ishimaru all stared in the crater with shock clearly written on their face.

In the center of the crater, where Sasaku once stood, was Orochimaru. He wore Sasaku's clothes, and had the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako in his eyes. In his hands were the Kumori Tora and the Demon sword. The black chakra of the Kumori Tora surrounded him, the seven tales lashing about wildly. Suzaku grinned, even more wildly than before. "So that's it," he said, "That's what you did."

_To be continued..._


	123. Gone

"So that's it," Suzaku said, "That's what you did."

A grin crossed Orochimaru's face. "Ah, Suzaku," he said, "Aren't you happy to see me? It's been a year now, hasn't it? Maybe more? Well, the last we did battle, you held these blades. Now I shall kill you with your finest creations!"

"You're not the only one who's gotten stronger," Suzaku said, "I've got a few new ticks up my sleeve too." Suzaku then formed a Burning Rasengan in his hand. Orochimaru stared at Suzaku with the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako. He formed a Rasengan in one hand, and a Chidori in the other. Suzaku laughed. "Eat this!" Suzaku yelled, thrusting his hand foreword, "Burning Rasengan Cannon!"

The Rasengan grew and expanded. It launched at Orochimaru. Orochimaru smashed his hands together, and the Ultima Blast launched and collided with the Burning Rasengan Cannon. The two collided and exploded in a rainbow of colors. They kept hitting each other, and occasionally one would push the other one back for a moment before they met balance again.

"Guys," Ishimaru said, "We need to get out of here! Now!" Naruto and Ino nodded, and they all began to run for the wall of the village. Ino shot one last look back in their direction. She made a wish in her heart that Sasaku would be okay, and then leapt over the wall, after Naruto and Ishimaru.

Orochimaru and Suzaku both grinned wildly. The beams intensified, and suddenly there was an explosion. Everything went white, and the noise was louder than anything. Naruto, Ino, and Ishimaru were all knocked foreword from the shockwaves. Ino spun onto her back and watched in horror. The light was blinding. "Sasaku!" she shouted.

She took off in a run towards the village. Ishimaru jumped up and grabbed her arm. "Sasaku will be fine!" he said, "We've just got to go now! He would never forgive himself if something happened to you." Ino looked Ishimaru in the eyes. "Don't worry," he said, "Sasaku would never leave you without saying goodbye first." With tears in her eyes, Ino took Ishimaru in a hug. He hugged her back, then broke contact.

"We should keep moving," he said. Ino nodded, and with one last look, took off with Ishimaru and Naruto.

In the village, most everything was in ruin. Within the area surrounding the explosion, there was nothing. Everything had been blown away or destroyed. Outside that area, most every building had been knocked down. Death and destruction reeked. Half-dead people were crawling out of the wreckage, and some of the brainwashed shinobi were gathering the villagers and bringing them into what underground tunnels were left.

The southeastern part of the wall was gone, and the rest was cracked and badly demolished. There was no evidence of the Hokage mansion ever existing, along with any of the other well-known places. Ichiraku, the academy, the mountain of the Hokage faces, anything and everything was gone. Rubble covered the ground, and most of it was in fist-sized pieces. The village was in ruins. Everything that had been built up since the foundation of the village, since the first Hokage, it was all gone.

Suzaku stood. He was lying among the rubble of the Hokage faces. He looked around at everything. Then he looked over to the part of the wall that was missing. Orochimaru was just pulling himself out of the rubble on that side. Suzaku stood atop the mountain, looking around at everything. His mouth was open, but nothing came out. He was shocked by all the destruction.

Orochimaru then appeared next to Suzaku, standing in the opposite direction. "Well Suzaku," he said, "Look's like we've made quite a mess of your little village. What are you to do now Suzaku? You have nothing. There is nothing here to rule. You are done."

A grin crossed Suzaku's face. "Orochimaru," he said, "You really have no idea, do you. I wanted to destroy the Five Shinobi Nations. In reality, this is one down. Now I can rebuild a village, one of my own, one that can combat the remaining nations! This is no loss for me. Quite the opposite, this is victory!

"The Leaf Village is gone, but from its roots, a new village will emerge. My village will emerge! I will have complete dominance!" Suzaku began to laugh madly. "And I have you to thank, Orochimaru. Oh, and just so you know," he lashed out sideways, hitting Orochimaru in the stomach, "That was maybe half of my power."

Orochimaru went flying sideways, and then Suzaku appeared over him and smashed him into the ground. Orochimaru disappeared in a cloud of dust that shot up when he struck. Suzaku waited for it to clear, and then he saw Orochimaru standing there. His glove had fallen off, revealing the curse mark. Suzaku came and punched Orochimaru in the stomach, causing him to double over.

Then Suzaku grabbed the hand with the curse mark. The purple chakra began to leak out, and then the mark shattered. A horrid look crossed Orochimaru's face. "No!" he shouted, as he held his head in his hands, "No! I cannot be killed!"

Suzaku laughed. "You just were."

Orochimaru screamed, and his hair began to shorten until it was short and spiky. His eyes went to green, and his skin regained its color. A scar appeared over his right eye. Within a few seconds, Sasaku stood there, grasping his head. He wobbled a little, then shook himself. He looked at the back of his hand, then looked around at all the destruction.

"What the...?!" Sasaku couldn't believe what he was seeing. The Leaf Village was flattened to the ground. He turned and looked at Suzaku, who smirked waved a hand at him.

"Once I'm done with the new village," he said, "I want you to come and visit. I think that we'll both be ready by then."

Sasaku growled, then turn around and ran. He ran in the direction of the others, not looking back, not wanting to see the village. He felt a tear come to his eye.

_To be continued..._


	124. Resolutions

Sasaku ran as fast as he could after Naruto, Ishimaru, and Ino. Tears were in the corner of his eyes as his feet hit the ground in rhythm. He couldn't believe it, the Leaf Village, gone. Everything that he was trying to save was now gone. Suzaku would pay for this. Sasaku didn't care if he would die in the process, Suzaku would pay!

Suddenly, Sasaku noticed the three up ahead. They had stopped and were apparently waiting for him. He jumped into the clearing, and they all looked up in surprise. "Sasaku!" Ino exclaimed, jumping up and throwing her arms around him. Sasaku held her close and buried his face in her hair.

"Sasaku," Ishimaru said, "What happened?" Sasaku looked up at him.

"It's gone," he said, burying his face again, "It's all gone."

"What's gone?" Naruto asked, worried.

"The village," Sasaku said.

"What?!" Ino exclaimed, breaking contact and looking into Sasaku's eyes.

"There was nothing I could do," he said, first looking at her, and then at the other two, "The village is gone. Destroyed, decimated, annihilated, obliterated. It's all gone. Suzaku and Orochimaru, when they did that attack, the whole village..." Sasaku looked down at his hands, "All gone, because of one of my techniques..."

"No," Naruto said, sitting down against a tree, "No, it can't be true! The village can't be gone! There's just no-!"

"Face it Naruto!" Sasaku yelled, "It's gone! There's nothing we can do!" It was silent for a long time. Sasaku sat down on a fallen log and held his head in his hands. Tears were streaming from his eyes. "We just went through all that," he said, "My brother died, the village was destroyed, and we didn't even get what we came for. We couldn't save Sasuke..."

"That's what you think," came a voice from above them all. Sasuke suddenly dropped right in the middle of the clearing.

"Sasuke!" they all exclaimed.

"How..." Naruto said, "How did you get away?"

"Well," Sasuke said, "I managed to see Orochimaru right before the explosion happened. As soon as I saw him, I was broken free of the spell Suzaku had on me. It took me a while to escape him, but I finally got away and found you guys."

"You escaped Suzaku?!" Ino exclaimed. Sasuke shook his head.

"No, my brother, Itachi."

"What?!" Sasaku said, "That's not possible! I killed Itachi myself!"

"I did too," Sasuke said, "Or, at least I thought I did. Suzaku found this jutsu, known as the ultimate technique. It's a Life Clone Jutsu."

"Life Clone?" Ishimaru asked.

"It's a special clone. When one is made, it becomes a new life. It is as if you just made a permanent copy of yourself. It has it's own mind, it's own life, it's own chakra, it's own everything. When it dies, the body doesn't vanish, it stays. It's a real being, separate from its creator. But, the Life Clones are very dangerous, as they can go on their own and betray the wishes of their creator."

"So," Sasaku said, slowly, "What you and I killed were Life Clones of Itachi?" Sasuke nodded. "Then how can we know if what we're really fighting is Suzaku?"

"When Suzaku uses his Life Clones," Sasuke explained, "He brainwashes them instantly, and kills them when they are no longer of use."

Sasaku shuddered. He couldn't believe the power of what he was hearing. To create a separate life, all on it's own, based off of the creator. It was insane. He shook his head. "They're all too powerful!" Sasaku said, "We need to hurry and get those other tails!"

"Right," Ino said, "We'll go get Sakura, and then we'll see if the others have found anything!" Sasaku nodded.

"Alright guys," he said, "It's only getting harder. I can understand if any of you want out. If so, just say it now. But if you're in this..." he held his hand out, palm down. Naruto grinned and placed his hand on top.

"I ain't droppin' out now!" he said, "We'll beat Suzaku, no matter what! Believe it!"

Sasuke placed his hand on top as well. "I want in," he said, "Suzaku has killed too many people, done to many wrongs to go ignored."

Ishimaru place his hand on as well. "Anything for my friends," he said with a grin.

Ino was the last to put her hand on. "Whatever the risks," she said, "I'm with you always." Sasaku looked at them all, and small tears of joy appeared in the corner of his eyes.

"Alright," he said, "Let's move!" With a shout, they all threw their hands up and then began to run from the town towards where Sakura was.

* * *

Suzaku stood, staring over the wreckage. He grinned at the thought of him creating his own village, one for him to command. Frostbite appeared behind him. "Sir," he said, "There has been approximately ninety fatalities from the explosion, and about two hundred casualties. Everyone has been gathered underground in the passages. What are your next orders?"

Suzaku frowned when he heard the casualty number. "Tell the civilians to stay there," he said, "And have all experienced shinobi standing on guard. In three day's, we're going to be changing locations. Gather anything that could be sold or used for resources, and get them packed." Suzaku sensed a tension in Frostbite. "And," he said, "You and Silver have my permission to go after Ryu."

"Thank you," Frostbite said, "Lord Suzaku." With that, Frostbite took off. Suzaku got a mental link with Silver, and then released the jutsu that was keeping her his servant. He saw her and Frostbite jump away from the village. Suzaku smirked. He knew that they weren't going to survive. All he knew was that they were so anxious to get at Ryu, they were useless with him.

_In fact,_ Suzaku thought, _The Renegades got the Life Clone Justu out of me, and I got no return out of it. Do they honestly think they can do that? Heh, once this village is situated, each and every one of them is dead._

_To be continued.._


	125. New Beginnings

Sasaku stood across from the host of the seven-tailed beast. The host was pretty badly beaten up, his chakra flickering away slowly. Sasaku grinned as the host nodded their head. "Alright," Sasaku said, placing his swords between them, "Let's do this." The host nodded, and the two made a hand sign. Chakra gathered around the blades, and then went into the air, forming a sphere.

The sphere took the shape of a tail, which then turned into a white tiger tail with red stripes. _Why are all these tails white?!_ Sasaku thought to himself. The tail then became a ball of energy and shot into the swords. For a second, the swords flashed into one huge guillotine sword, and then back to regular. Sasaku went and picked up the swords. "Thank you," Sasaku said. The host nodded, then turned and took off.

Everyone ran up to Sasaku and began congratulating him. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Ishimaru, Hinata, and Karei were all there. The day after the incident at the village, they ran into Hinata and Karei. A few days after that, they had found the host that the two of them had gathered information of. Now Sasaku was only two tails away from getting each of the Kumori Tora's tails. He could hardly wait until he made Suzaku pay.

* * *

Suzaku stood on the top of a large hill. He watched as the beginnings of he village started to emerge all around him. Next to him, the foundations for the new Kage mansion were starting to emerge. Itachi walked up next to him. "Isn't it beautiful Itachi?" Suzaku asked, "My own kingdom. My own village."

"I like the thought, Lord Suzaku," Itachi said, "The new Leaf Village will be much more powerful with you at full command."

"Right," Suzaku said, "But not the Leaf Village anymore. No, this village is named after the manner of which I will rule it in probably a month." Itachi looked at Suzaku with interest. "The Village Hidden in the Shadows," Suzaku continued, "And I will rule it as the Kumorikage!"

"The Kumorikage?" Itachi said, "You may be blowing this whole thing with the Kumori Tora to an extreme. To rule with a demon will be rebuked, will it not?"

"If the Kazekage can do it," Suzaku said, "Then why not I? I shall be the ultimate ruler of all these lands. I don't care what people think. They will be afraid, and I will kill all who oppose me. With Sasaku's powers, and with the Kumori Tora and its chakra, no one would ever stand a chance. Not even..." Suzaku grinned, then said in a quieter voice, "Not even _he_ would."

"Right," Itachi said, "Even now, I doubt _he _would even compare in power to you. No, you need not worry about _him_." Suzaku nodded, grinning all the while. Then his attention went to a large statue of Suzaku being raised. "Although," Itachi muttered, "You might be getting to much of an ego."

Suzaku didn't hear, and began walking towards the statue. Itachi sighed and looked around. Then turned around and began walking in the opposite direction. He walked west-northwest for about two miles until he came to the ruins of the Leaf Village. He touched a hand to the wall, and muttered something quietly to himself. A tear fell off his cheek onto the ground, and then he turned away and walked back to the new Shadow Village.

* * *

Ryu and Ami were walking along a trail, following a wake of chakra that had been left by Sasaku only a day before. They knew the location of the eighth tailed beast. Suddenly, Ryu sensed Andari chakra just behind him, both attack types. He spun around, his own chakra flaring and flinging in the direction of the chakra. In an instant, Silver fell to the ground from out of the bushes, clenching a badly burnt arm.

Ryu then sensed Frostbite directly above him. Frostbite fell straight down onto Ryu, but Ryu dodged and punched Frostbite in the stomach, sending him sprawling sideways. Ryu then turned and saw that Silver had healed herself. She came in to attack Ryu, but he punched her in the stomach, and then sent her flying back using his chakra. Frostbite stood and gathered chakra on his hands.

Ryu drew his knife, and chakra covered it. Ami drew some kunai and got in a stance facing Frostbite. Frostbite looked between the two. "Give it up," Ryu said, "The Renegades don't stand a chance!" Frostbite growled, then instantly appeared behind Ami. He held one of her kunai to her throat, and his chakra quickly covered it.

"Tell me Ryu," he said, "What's more important? This girl? Or your power to summon Osore?!" Ryu stepped back.

"That's what you're after?" he said, "My power to summon Osore?" Frostbite, clearly frustrated, pressed the kunai harder to Ami's throat. Ryu lashed his arm, and Frostbite was about to slash through her neck, but Ryu's knife, still coated in his chakra, hit Frostbite in the forehead, piercing his headband. He fell back, dead, and Ami ran to Ryu.

But before she reached him, Silver began to attack him. She threw her chakra at him rapidly. Even though the chakra was not as strong as his, and Ryu could deflect it, it came so fast he never had a chance to launch his own attack. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead. Ami looked between him and Silver, and then she jumped at Silver herself. "Wait!" Ryu yelled, "Ami!"

Silver grinned. She launched an attack at Ami, hitting her dead on. She went flying back with a shout. "AMI!" Ryu yelled. Silver began her attack on Ryu again. The chakra completely covered his body, and was flaring wildly. He jumped at Silver, straight through her attacks. Her eyes widened, and Ryu slashed through her stomach with the knife. Then, while he was right next to her, he blasted her with all the force of his chakra he could. There wasn't even a body left.

Ryu ran over to Ami. "Are you okay?!" he asked frantically. She coughed, then stood up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, "Just a little shaken." She hid her burned arms behind her back.

"Here," Ryu said, "Let me see your arms." A little embarrassed, Ami held her arms out and allowed Ryu to heal them. Once he was done, he looked her right in the eyes, and then caught her in a hug, catching Ami off guard. "Be more careful next time," he said, "I don't want anything to happen to you."

Ami blushed and smiled. "Thanks for your worry," she said, "But I can handle myself. Besides that was nothing."

"I know," Ryu said with a small laugh, "But just be a little more cautious, just in case."

_To be continued..._


	126. Anticipation

_It's been a little over a month since we met up with Ryu and Ami. A week after that, Sasaku fought Killer Bee and got the ninth tail. Out of it, he got some pretty interesting swords, much like his katanas, except they're made out of pure chakra. As Sasaku demonstrated, they will only cause damage to the things he wants to, and will harmlessly pass through everything else. I thought it was pretty sweet._

_ For a good while we've been resting ourselves. We've camped out somewhere south of Oto. Before, we heard nothing but rumors about Sasaku, and about how he's an evil force sent to destroy the Leaf Village. Those rumors instantly vanished when it was discovered that the Village was in ruins. But now, there's this new Shadow Village that Suzaku has created._

_ Along with these rumors have the rumors of Orochimaru's rebirth reemerged. We all know it's a load of crap, but no one believes us. They weren't there, so they couldn't know that Orochimaru is finally gone for good. But, that's just people for you._

_ Like I said, we've been resting here for a long time. Sasaku says we're going to need all our strength when we go to fight Suzaku. But Ami, Karei, Ino, and Hinata keep asking about the Ninth Tail, and how he plans on getting it. The others, they know. They all know that Sasaku is just procrastinating, putting off the fight until the last minute._

_ He doesn't want to fight me, and I don't want to fight him. Twelve times we've both sat down and tried to negotiate with the Nine-Tailed Fox. Each time, we've been given the same response. The fox refuses to give in. He will only give up the final tail if the wielder of the Kumori Tora fights him and beats him. The thing is, Sasaku cannot hold back, and I've been warned that if I do, Sasaku won't get the tail._

_ The others keep being persistent, and Sasaku finally gave in today. Tomorrow, we leave to make a slow trek to the Shadow Village. Maybe while we're on the way, Sasaku and me will finally get it over with. We'll see I guess. When it comes down to me and Sasaku, the fox and the tiger, I can only help but wonder... will I even come close to being as strong as him?_

Suzaku stood over the body of Andari Takeshi. He was beaten and bloody, with steady breathing. He coughed, and then curled over. "Suzaku!" he sputtered, "You... son of a..." Suzaku crouched down and met his eyes.

"Don't try to rip me off," he said, "As of now, the Renegades are disbanded. Any final requests?"

"Just one," Takeshi said, "Kill my son!" Suzaku grinned, and then took a kunai. He dropped it next to Takeshi's face, and then started to walk away. There was a bomb on the kunai. It went off, and Suzaku walked coolly away from the explosion. Itachi then appeared next to Suzaku.

"Suzaku-sama," he said, "All the other Andari Renegades have been eliminated."

"Good," Suzaku replied, "Very good. And what of Sasaku?"

"It looks like he's finally moving. However, he's only got nine of the tails."

"Hmm, doesn't have the guts to face my brother huh. Very well, I can get that tenth tail easily. Meanwhile, how is the work on the village coming?"

"The wall is halfway up, and most of the buildings are done. It seems your work force may have once again exceeded your expectations. The other nations seem interested in what you are doing. I would recommend presenting yourself as the Sixth Hokage, instead of the Kumorikage. It would get a better response. Furthermore, they should be lead to believe that this is the New Leaf."

"Agreed," Suzaku said, "Now, I suppose that since most of the buildings are done, the rest of our force can get working on that wall. Let's try to have it up by the end of the month." Itachi nodded, and then took off. Suzaku came over a hill and watched his village from afar. He liked what he saw. He liked to know that this was his, and that the Leaf Village had been eliminated.

No, it wasn't part of his original plans. _Wasn't part of _**his** _original plans. But it works!_ And it did work. This gave Suzaku sympathy from the other villages, since every rumor he heard talked about how Orochimaru had once again returned and had single-handedly destroyed the village. The other villages were already sending him funds and supplies.

Of course, Suna and Oto had already made complete alliances with Suzaku, due to the fact that the Otokage and the Kazekage were under his mind control. He gave them enough freedom of course to act as they normally did; they just had much more friendship towards him than they would have. The people of the villages came to eventually accept it, and kept their alliances with Suzaku.

Sasaku laid in his bedroll. It was the middle of the night, and he couldn't sleep. Tomorrow, they would leave for the village. Sasaku wondered how he could bring himself to fight Naruto. He heard someone stir next to him. Ino woke up and glanced over at him. "Can't sleep?" she asked. Sasaku shook his head, staring at the stars the whole time.

"I'm just nervous about this," he said, "I wonder if I'm strong enough..."

"You are, Sasaku," she said, "You're the strongest." Sasaku smiled.

"Yeah," he said jokingly, propping himself up on his elbow, "I'm the best. In fact, I'm invincible! I can beat Suzaku as if he were just a little insect!" Ino and Sasaku both laughed quietly.

"You'll be fine," Ino said, "There's no way you can lose." She quickly brushed her lips against his, and then kissed him. "Now try to get some sleep," she said. Sasaku smiled at her and nodded, kissing her on the cheek too.

"Good night," he said to her. She smiled and said it back. Sasaku watched her until her breathing became heavy and he knew she was asleep. He kissed her one more time. "I love you," he muttered. He then looked to his watch. It was dead midnight. He smiled, a dry, humorless smile. "Happy Birthday Sasaku," he muttered to himself.

_To be continued..._


	127. Sasaku vs Naruto part 1

**Well guys, it's time. Is it just me, or is going by a lot faster than I thought? Way too fast if you ask me. Man, I think I'm going to cry when this story is over. I don't want it to end, but at the same time, I can't wait for the conclusion. Oh well, I hope you all enjoy. R&R!**

Sasaku and the group all walked, going southwards towards the Leaf Village. No one spoke a word. They walked a long ways, until they came to this valley. Then each and every one of them looked up. It was a huge gorge, with two bodies of water: a high one and a low one. There was a waterfall, and on either side of the waterfall was a large stone statue. One was of the first Hokage, and the other of the Second.

"Wow," Ami said as she stared out at the marvel. Everyone else stared, all equally in awe.

"This place," Sasaku said, "The Valley of the End..." He glanced over to Naruto, and the two of them held eye contact. "I don't think," Sasaku said, "That there could be a more perfect place..." He drew his sword, and held the tip of it to Naruto's throat. "Come and face me!" Sasaku yelled, "Nine-Tailed Fox!"

Ami, Hinata, Ino, and Karei all gasped. Ishimaru looked nervously between them. Ryu stared at Sasaku, a worried look in his eyes. Sasuke and Sakura both looked at their feet, as if they were guilty of something. It was obvious they knew, but they didn't want it to be common knowledge. Naruto gulped.

"Sasaku..." he said. There were tears in the corners of his eyes. Some had formed in the corners of Sasaku's also.

"Alright," Sasaku said, "No holding back. We have to do this!" Naruto nodded, and the two stayed in place for over ten minutes, the tension building. Naruto downcast his head, and suddenly began trembling. A bit of the orange chakra of the fox began to leak out.

"I'm only doing this," Naruto said, "So you can get the tail! Don't hold back!!" He instantly moved in and punched Sasaku right in the chest, sending him flying back into the water. As Sasaku was in midair, the chakra of the Kumori Tora started to flood over him. He landed gracefully on the surface of the water. Naruto jumped down and landed as well. Sasaku looked up at him, then made the swords into the hidden blades.

Naruto began running at Sasaku at full speed. As he was running, his emotions became so stirred that he went into a one tailed state. Sasaku brought out his first tail as well. He would match whatever Naruto did, but he refused to go all out with the demon. Naruto came in and slashed, but Sasaku dodged under it and came in with the hidden blades. He barely grazed Naruto's side and Naruto dropkicked him. Sasaku fell back and Naruto grabbed Sasaku and brought him into a punch.

Sasaku grunted and then elbowed Naruto in the side of the face. He grabbed Naruto by the hair and threw him up. Then Sasaku changed the hidden blades into the staff. He jumped up after Naruto. With a swing of the staff he sent Naruto flying back down. Naruto gave a hard landing on the surface of the water. When he looked back up, he saw Sasaku coming down at him with the knuckles, completely loaded with chakra. Naruto barely dodged it, but was hit in the jaw by another punch.

Naruto rolled backwards, and Sasaku appeared next to him. Naruto clawed at him and hit him across the cheek, making three slash marks appear, and making Sasaku stumble sideways. But Sasaku hit Naruto in the stomach with the knuckles, making him fly across the water. Then Sasaku made the chain. He lashed it out, and it wrapped around Naruto.

Naruto struggled against the chain, but the power of the Demon Sword prevented him from breaking it. Then Sasaku pulled the chain and swung it sideways. Naruto was flung around like a leaf in a hurricane. Then Sasaku smashed him into the side of the valley. Tons of smoke came from the impact, and Sasaku retracted the chain and made it into the gauntlets.

Out of the smoke came tens, hundreds, thousands of Naruto clones. Sasaku shot as many chakra shuriken as he could to take out some of them. But, as they got nearer, Sasaku began using the guillotine sword. With a single swing, he took out at least a dozen clones. With each swing of the sword, a black ark was left as a temporary streak of color from the speed it was going.

Soon there were only about a hundred clones left. But, they were getting too close for Sasaku to continue using to guillotine sword. He changed to the chakra katanas and slashed. With each slash of the katanas, it was as if a Tsukigata Tsuki jumped of the end for only a split second. It had devastating effects though. Sasaku continued fighting his way through the clones, watching the real one all the while with his Tomokenzan Kagamimanako.

Once he took out the last of them, he charged at Naruto. He thrust his swords through Naruto's chest. Naruto looked in surprise. But there was nothing. No injury, no blood, nothing. Naruto clenched his fist, and looked up at Sasaku. There were tears in his eyes, now running down his cheeks. "I can't," he said, so faintly it was almost impossible to hear.

"You have to!" Naruto yelled, "For the tail!!!" He punched Sasaku across the face, sending him back. Sasaku went flying, and then landed on the water. He looked back at Naruto. The tears were streaming down his face too. A second tail was now lashing about him wildly. Sasaku regretfully made his second tail come out as well.

_To be continued..._


	128. Sasaku vs Naruto part 2

Naruto and Sasaku both stood staring at each other for one long minute. A final tear rolled off Sasaku's cheek and hit the water. Instantly, the two of them bolted at each other. Right in the middle of where they stood before, a drop of blood fell in the water. Sasaku grasped the new cut on his arm, then turned around and launched a Tsukigata Tsuki at Naruto, who was hit dead on.

Sasaku then changed the blades into the kama. He twirled them a little, and then charged in at Naruto. He slashed him across the chest, ripping his shirt. The wound, however, healed fairly quickly. Naruto came in at full force and punched Sasaku, a third tail appearing midway through the punch. With Sasaku at a one-tail disadvantage, he went flying and spiraling into to side of the valley.

A smoke cloud appeared, and Sasaku vanished within it. Then, when it cleared, Sasaku was gone. Naruto was confused, and looked this way and that, trying to find him. Suddenly, a hand shot up and grabbed Naruto's ankle. Before he could react, Sasaku had pulled him under. Naruto tried to look around, but Sasaku was in his shadow form, and was attacking him quickly and constantly.

His shadow form came from his Hidden Pursuit Jutsu (another developed from the shared chakra of him and the Kumori Tora), one that he didn't use a lot, but was highly useful. It allowed him to become a shadow himself, allowing him to travel at high speeds. The only downside was that he couldn't make himself leave these objects, so he couldn't fight in this form. Water was the counter to this downside. He could move as freely as he wished, and his enemies were completely exposed, without being able to attack.

He kept sweeping back and forth across Naruto, leaving slashes each time. Naruto growled, and in his mind, the fox was edging him to use the forth tail. Naruto knew; he would have no control at that point. It would be the fox, and the fox alone. He didn't want Sasaku to have to fight the fox, because that was bound to get ugly. But, when Sasaku slashed him again, Naruto roared, releasing a huge amount of chakra from his body.

The water spread out away from him, and he found himself in a crater in the water. Sasaku stood on the edge of the crater, now unable to use his jutsu. As Naruto continued with the release of chakra, he floated in the air, and stared at Sasaku, who growled and made the hidden blades. He went to a third tail, and then straight into a forth tail. Naruto swore. Sasaku came in and made an impact.

Naruto blocked the blades with a solid skin of chakra surrounding him. Sasaku growled and tried to break the shell. "Sasaku," Naruto said. Sasaku looked at him. "It's not me anymore," Naruto continued, "You're not fighting your friend, you're fighting the Nine-Tailed Fox! Don't hold back!!"

For a moment, Sasaku didn't know what Naruto was talking about. But then, Naruto's eyes went completely feral, to the point where he was unrecognizable. Blood red chakra surrounded him, taking the shape of a fox with four tails. Sasaku swore. He remembered how, long ago, when Sasaku first got the swords, Naruto had gone into this form. It had not been a pretty picture.

Naruto roared, and lashed out his arms. Sasaku went flying back, sliding across the water. Naruto stood on all fours, and then ran at him. Sasaku let lose a Tsukigata Tsuki, but Naruto sidestepped it. Then Naruto hammered Sasaku in the stomach. Sasaku came in with the hidden blade, but it glanced off the chakra armor. Sasaku then went flying back again.

The chakra soon healed Sasaku's injuries, and he changed the blades into the chain. He lashed it at Naruto, but this time Naruto caught it. He pulled back and sent Sasaku flying towards him. But Sasaku changed the chain into knuckles and punched Sasaku with the chakra-loaded knuckles dead in the face. Naruto was sent flying backwards.

As Ino watched, she clenched her fists. She swallowed hard, wanting Sasaku to win, but at the same time, not wanting Naruto to get hurt. She swore for there being no other way. Everyone else had pretty much the same feelings as they watched. No one wanted to watch, no one wanted to be there, no one wanted any of this to be happening. But it was, and each and every person could only feel helpless as they watched.

Naruto flew back into the side, but stopped just short of the waterfall. "So, I can get to you with chakra," he said, making the gauntlets that created the chakra shuriken. He began to fire them at Naruto as he started charging at him. Naruto dodged the shuriken, and then, as Sasaku neared, jumped straight back, into the waterfall. Sasaku swore and unleashed a load of the shuriken all over the falls.

Then Sasaku changed to the regular blades. He flexed the Kumori Tora in his right hand for a moment, and then the Demon Sword in his left. After that moment of relaxation, he changed the blades into the chakra swords, and stood and waited for Naruto. Then Naruto suddenly jumped out and rammed himself into Sasaku. Upon impact, a ton of tiny orbs of chakra expelled themselves from Naruto, surrounding him. Sasaku flew backwards and skidded across the water.

He watched as Naruto held out a hand, and the chakra orbs began to gather into a sphere in his palm. Sasaku swore loudly, then made the swords again and sheathed them. Their chakra poured into his body like the waterfall behind Naruto poured into the water they stood on. Sasaku formed a Rasengan in his left hand, and a Chidori in his right. He watched as the last of the orbs merged with the chakra sphere.

Naruto ate the sphere of chakra, then looked at Sasaku. His body expanded, and then a giant beam launched itself at Sasaku. Sasaku smashed his hands together, and the Ultima Blast - laced with the chakra of the Kumori Tora - collided with the beam.

_To be continued..._


	129. Sasaku vs Naruto part 3

The Ultima Blast collided with Naruto's beam. When the two hit, there was a huge blast, and a bright light emanated from the place of contact. It was almost blinding, and Sasaku had to fight the urge to cover his eyes. He continued the blast, and when he felt he was about to fail, he unleashed the fifth tail. Right after he did, the beams exploded, cutting them both off.

Sasaku swore and the explosion sent him spiraling backwards. He skipped over the water four times before sliding to a stop. He watched, and Naruto shot out of the resulting ball of smoke. What Sasaku saw frightened him. Six tails were lashing about wildly behind Naruto. But that was not what scared Sasaku. No, it was the fox skeleton that was now covering Naruto's body, right on top of the chakra.

The skeleton was a beautifully frightening thing. Sasaku couldn't believe it when he realized what was happening. As the fox gave him more power, parts of the physical presence of the Fox would show themselves. Sasaku didn't want to know what would happen when all nine tails were released.

Sasuke didn't either. He watched, sensing the chakra increase dramatically as Naruto grew more tails. This was the evil chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox, and it was more powerful than anything he had felt. As the seal slipped, another one of the fox's tails would be released. Then what happened when the ninth tail was released? Sasuke thought he knew.

Naruto would die, and the Nine-Tailed Fox would be free.

He shuddered at the thought. What would they do if the fox was let free? Or, worse yet, what would they do if they lost Naruto? He didn't want to think about it. The fight would never erupt to that magnitude anyways. He gulped hard. _Would it?_ He didn't know. He wanted to think - to hope - the fox would surrender the tail before it got to that point, but he just didn't know.

Sasaku went ahead and released the sixth tail of the Kumori Tora. He held his swords, and quickly changed them to the chakra blades. Naruto was charging at him full speed, and Sasaku braced himself for impact. Surprisingly, it never happened. Naruto appeared right behind Sasaku, and there was a huge slash in Sasaku's right side.

It had ripped of Sasaku's sleeve, and there was a gaping hole in the shirt as well. He turned around and looked at Naruto in awe, before even feeling the immense pain that coursed through him. The wound smoked and healed quickly, but while it healed, Sasaku was forced to fend off a fury of attacks from Naruto. Then Sasaku landed one good slash on him before jumping back. He stood, panting and slightly out of breath, as did Naruto.

_**The Kumori Tora will pay for his betrayal!**_ Sasaku didn't know if he heard the voice, or if the Nine-Tailed Fox had somehow gotten in his head. All he knew was that after he heard it, he had to counter tons upon tons of attacks from Naruto. Then he slashed out, getting Naruto across the chest. Naruto roared, releasing tons of chakra; enough to make Sasaku fly back into the side of the valley and rip off his shirt in the process. Sasaku felt the rock hit his bare back, and he let out a shout of pain.

When Ino heard the shout, she winced. From across the valley, the two of them made eye contact. Once Sasaku saw her watching him, he found a strength that he hadn't touched in a long time. It was one that made him relax, made him stronger. It was an old strength from when he was younger, and he laughed at himself for using it now. _I can't look bad in front of her!_

Sasaku's mood was lightened somewhat. He laughed and stepped onto the water, as his back smoked and healed. "What?" he taunted, "Is that all you've got, fox boy?!" Naruto roared, and a huge wave of chakra launched at Sasaku. He held the swords in front of him and deflected the energy. He grinned and stared at Naruto, changing the chakra blades back to the real katanas. Then he fired off Tsukigata Tsuki for about a minute straight, each one barely being dodged by Naruto.

Eventually, a ball of smoke and flashes of light from the Tsukigata Tsuki formed around Naruto. Sasaku ended up bringing out the seventh tail without even realizing it. He finally stopped, and the ball of smoke hung in the air. Then Naruto jumped out of it with a roar. Sasaku nearly crapped his pants when he saw Naruto. He had released eight tails. Now the bones were gone, and chakra was no longer visible.

Naruto was nothing but the muscles of the fox, and two large red eyes. Sasaku's eyes widened and he parried a swipe from the fox's claws. He slashed with the swords, and it cut the muscle of the fox. Out of the wound came blood. It wasn't energy, it wasn't chakra, it wasn't fake; it was real, honest blood of a mortal demon. This surprised Sasaku more than anything else ever had.

He slashed again at Naruto, and then launched a Tsukigata Tsuki, sending Naruto flipping backwards. Then Sasaku hit him with another Tsukigata Tsuki in midair. Naruto fell, and landed awkwardly on the water. He glared at Sasaku with his red eyes. Sasaku stood there, panting. "Kyubi!" Sasaku yelled, "Isn't this enough?! Haven't I proven myself worthy of the final tail?!"

_**NO! THE KUMORI TORA WILL PAY!!!**_ The ground shook as a large sphere of orange chakra began to form around Naruto. Sasaku watched as the sphere grew and made itself into an impenetrable shell. It was a large, solid ball of orange chakra that blew the water out from under it. Sasaku made the Kumori Tora go into a nine-tailed state. He then bit his thumb and placed his palm on the water.

"Shadow Style:" he said, "Demon Summoning Jutsu!" There was a cloud of smoke, and out of it, the Kumori Tora emerged, it's nine tails lashing about behind it. The beast got into a position as if to pounce. "**Sasaku,**" it said, "**Let's finish this!**" Sasaku nodded. The ball of chakra shrunk, then exploded wildly.

_To be continued..._


	130. Fight

Sasuke watched as the chakra around Naruto expanded, shrunk, and then exploded outwards with violent force. They all felt the wind from the explosion up where they stood watching. _Please,_ Sasuke thought, _Please let me be wrong!_ There was one more explosion, this one nothing but a stunning white light that could be seen for miles. Everyone was forced to cover their eyes.

The white light faded, and Sasaku stared out across the water, the Kumori Tora standing next to him. When he saw Naruto, he was surprised, just as surprised as everyone watching. Naruto stood there, the Nine-Tailes Fox's chakra still gathered about him, with all nine of the tails. However, next to him, just like the Kumori Tora, was the Nine-Tailed Fox.

It was about the same size, maybe slightly smaller. The Kyubi had a tamed look on its face. Naruto grinned. The chakra of the fox seemed to have no effect on him, other than the immense strength. His hair was normal, his face markings and his teeth were far from feral, and his eyes were their usual, friendly blue. The Kumori Tora stopped growling, and got out of the crouched position.

"Check it out," Naruto said as Sasaku took a step back, "I'm in control. I hit the ninth tail, and I didn't die like everyone thought! I control the fox now! Using his chakra doesn't kill me anymore. That's why the other demon host worked so well with their demons, they used all the tails and achieved symbiosis with the demons! That's what I've done now!"

"Then," Sasaku said, "Then you're in control of the Kyubi?" Naruto nodded. "Does that mean...?" Again, Naruto nodded. Sasaku let out a shout of joy. The Kyubi bowed its head.

"**I will return the tail to the Kumori Tora,**" it said grudgingly, "**Sasaku, both of you will soon learn the truth.**" Then it turned its attention to the Kumori Tora. "**We still have a score to settle. One day, when I'm not held back by this host, I will make you suffer.**" The Kumori Tora actually began laughing, a deep laugh in its throat.

The Kyubi growled and looked away. From on top of the side of the valley, everyone began cheering. Sasaku smiled, then grinned at Naruto. The two made their way up to the others. They each ran up and began praising the two of them, everyone glad it had gone so well. Then Naruto and Sasaku looked to each other. "Alright," Naruto said, "Let's get you that tail!"

Sasaku nodded, and everyone backed off some distance. Sasaku stuck the swords into the ground, and he and Naruto backed off a few feet. The Kumori Tora and the Kyubi stood perpendicular to the two of them, on opposite sides of the swords. Naruto and Sasaku both made a hand sign, and then the Kyubi's orange chakra began to flow around the swords.

The chakra formed into a sphere above the swords, and the chakra changed into a white tiger tail. The tail then shot into the swords, and the swords changed into claws like that of the Kumori Tora for a spilt second. Naruto released his nine tails, and the Kyubi vanished. Sasaku also released his tails, but the Kumori Tora remained. Sasaku went over and touched the swords, and as soon as he did, the Kumori Tora suddenly erupted in a burst of light.

There was a roar, and everyone looked to the Kumori Tora in fear. The light lasted for a few seconds, and when it faded, there stood the Kumori Tora. It had all ten tails, but that wasn't the only change. The Kumori Tora was white, with red stripes. Without the black, it didn't look fearful in the slightest. Along with the Kumori Tora, the swords had changed from black to white.

"What the..." Sasaku muttered.

"_I am the Shainingu Tora_," the beast said, "I _am my true self once again_."

"What happened?" Sasaku said, "You were the Kumori Tora before! Why is it the Shainingu Tora now?!"

"_As I have told you before, there was a war with the demons long ago_," the Shainingu Tora said, "_I was on my own side, and was winning until the other nine demons sealed my tails, sending them to the mortal world_."

"But what does that have to do with anything?"

"_The reason for the war_," the Shainingu Tora said, slowly, "_The other nine were dark and evil. Each of them was planning, plotting to rule the mortals. They wanted annihilation of them all, so they could use this world as their own_." It shook its head. "_I couldn't allow it. I wished to save this world, and all in it, much like you are trying to do now, Sasaku_."

"So, all along, you were trying to save the world?"

"_Yes, and by making the demons mortal, I succeeded, even if it meant I lost my power for a time. But now, there is a new threat to this world, Suzaku. Sasaku, you have to hurry. Use my power, and destroy him once and for all_." Sasaku nodded, and the Kumori Tora became a sphere of energy and shot back into the white blades that were now the Shainingu Tora and the Demon Sword.

Sasaku looked down at the Shainingu Tora. The kanji was complete. "Fight" it said. Sasaku mouthed the word, and then smiled. And fight is just what he would do. Sasaku stood out on the edge of the valley. "We will rest and train for one month," he said, "At the end of that month, we will go, and we will eliminate Suzaku once and for all!" He stuck his fist in the air. "Who's with me?!"

Everyone let out a shout, and Sasaku grinned and watched the setting sun.

_To be continued..._

**I'm sorry, was that a little anticlimactic? Well, with all this new power for everyone, it's just going to be a bigger fight with Suzaku, right? Oh, as for the claws, picture something like what Vincent from Final Fantasy VII has. So, yeah, enjoy. And in case you forgot, R&R!**


	131. Last Night Together

Suzaku sat in front of a television, watching the fight between Naruto and Sasaku over and over again, and then watching the conclusion, with the Shainingu Tora. Ever since he had one of his servants get the fight, he couldn't stop watching. In Suzaku's hand, the glass that had his wine in it shattered. Suzaku was shaking. "Congratulations Sasaku," he said, "You're almost making me nervous."

Itachi was sitting in a chair outside, supervising the finishing touches of the village. The Kumorikage mansion was getting its final touches on the paint, and then the last parts of the five gates into the village were being finished. The village was styled similar to the Leaf Village, but with a much different color scheme, and more complicated and intricate roofs.

The buildings were mostly a faded crimson. Most of the roofs were straw thatched, but some of the others were flat. The whole village was built as a perfect circle, around a hill. The buildings all were going in a circle around the center, the ones further in made taller then the ones further out then them, or they were placed higher up. In the dead center of the village, at the very top of the hill, was the Kumorikage mansion.

With the way the village was structured, if war were to break out - and it was bound to - the Kumorikage mansion would be highly protected in case an assault was launched on the village. Itachi stood and walked down the hill, through the passageways of the buildings, and down endless flights of stairs. When he reached the bottom, the buildings were more spaced out, and it was more open.

Itachi liked the base of the village better. It was a little more open and free then the village close to the top. As he continued walking, he made his way into the park. It was a large open field, surrounded by forest, with a huge lake on the northern side. There was a thin strip of land that stretched out into the lake, and then expanded into a small island. In the middle of the island, a large statue of Suzaku had been erected.

Itachi sighed. This whole village, it disgusted him. The Leaf Village was his village. He belonged to it, not this new, fake village. The Shadow Village? The Kumorikage? Why couldn't Suzaku be the Hokage, and make this the New Leaf Village? He was going far to overboard with the idea of this demon, and ruling with it. It wasn't even the Kumori Tora anymore. Suzaku would be making a rule of fear using the Shainingu Tora.

Itachi kicked a rock into the water and walked up to the statue. He stared at it for a minute, then spat on the engraving at the bottom, and walked away. The engraving read "Namikaze Suzaku: Founder. Ruler. The World's Strongest Shinobi."

Sasaku sat by the fire at their camp. It was evening, and everyone was out doing whatever they could to relax. For Sasaku, that was just sitting by the fire alone, strumming a quick tune on his guitar. He stared into the flames. Suzaku's face flashed for a moment in the fire, and Sasaku shook his head. Tomorrow, they would leave to fight Suzaku. He turned around when he heard a noise behind him.

Ino came walking towards him. He moved to the side on the log he was on, giving her room to sit down, putting his guitar down. She sat next to him and came in close. She put her head on her shoulder, and Sasaku slid his arm around her waist. He reached his other hand across and grabbed her hand. They were silent for a minute, just enjoying being with each other. "I want to go with you tomorrow," Ino said.

Sasaku shook his head. "We've discussed this," he said, "It's just going to be me, Naruto, Sasuke, Ishimaru, and Ryu. I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

"Please Sasaku," she pleaded, "I don't want you to leave me alone." Sasaku hugged her tightly.

"Can we talk about something else?" he asked, "I don't want to think about this more than I have to." Ino nodded, and the two stayed silent for a minute.

"So it's really gone," she said.

"Huh?"

"The Leaf Village," Ino said, "It's really gone." Sasaku swallowed and nodded, and Ino used her free hand and absently began tracing shapes on Sasaku's leg. "I'm sorry, I'll talk about something else," she said. Again, they sat in silence. Sasaku smiled and kissed her forehead. She blushed and squeezed his hand. Sasaku chuckled to himself. "What?" Ino asked.

"I'm just remembering," he said, "Way back when, on that night when I first told you I loved you." Ino smiled.

"All I remember was a necklace and what you told me," she said.

"Well, I still remember how embarrassing it was," Sasaku said, "I thought I was all cool, singing for you just above your window. But then I dropped my pick, and fell off the roof into your rose bush." Ino laughed quietly, still tracing shapes on his leg with her finger.

"I remember," Ino said, "That you sang that song and I loved every second of it. I don't care if you lost your cool, because you got it right back."

"Oh please," Sasaku said, "Me? Cool? Nah! Maybe a womanizer, but-" Ino smacked him in the chest, cutting him off. Sasaku laughed. "Oh come on," he said, "You know I'm kidding. You're the only one for me." Ino smiled and continued tracing on his leg with her finger.

"Yeah," she said, "I know." She then looked up at Sasaku, and he looked her in the eyes. The two moved closer, as if to kiss.

"Hey! Sasaku!" Naruto called, "You gotta come see this!" Sasaku swore silently, then stood. He saw Naruto at the edge of their campsite. "Come on!" he said, running into the forest. Ino looked to Sasaku, who shrugged. Then the two followed him. Then they came into a clearing. The half-moon shone up in the shy, giving light to the clearing, which was filled with hundreds of fireflies.

Sasaku looked in amazement. There were tons of them, everywhere. A smile crossed his face as he looked around at them. He then saw Naruto and Hinata watching them together. In different parts, Sasuke and Sakura were kissing, as were Ryu and Ami, and Karei and Ishimaru were holding each other as they watched.

Sasaku couldn't think about tomorrow. He couldn't think about Suzaku, or any of the pain he'd caused. All he could think about was the person next to him, and his friend surrounding him. He smiled, and he and Ino kissed in the moonlight, as the fireflies danced around him.

_To be continued..._

**$#!%... I just got that song stuck in my head. You know the one. R&R!**


	132. Endgame 1

Suzaku sat in his office in the Kumorikage mansion. Itachi suddenly walked in, holding a note. He handed it to Suzaku without a word. Suzaku took it and read it quickly. He grinned. "They want me to meet them?" he asked, "You think they would just have the fight in the village again. I mean, it's not like this village means anything to them."

Itachi shrugged. "It's your choice whether you go or not," he said, "But Sasaku has all ten tails. The time is right to strike. However, he's fighting with four others. Ryu, Ishimaru, Sasuke, and Naruto are all with him in this. Even with your power, I'd be careful."

"Yeah, I know," Suzaku replied. He stood and walked out. Itachi stared after him, then out at the village. He saw Suzaku walk through it, feeling some emotion run through him. There was a burning in his chest, and he contemplated on what he would do, as he stared out at this new village, the village he detested, the Shadow Village.

Sasaku stood in the middle of the Konoha Ruins. He felt the chakra of the Shainingu Tora on edge as he placed his hand on the pommel of the sword. He looked to his right. Naruto stood there, with Sasuke next to him. On his left, Ishimaru stood, with Ryu next. They all stood facing foreword, waiting.

Sasaku closed his eyes. _It was the morning before they left. Sasaku and Ino sat in the field that was filled with the fireflies the night before. "I promised I would never leave without saying goodbye," Sasaku had said._

_ "Then don't" Ino replied, "Please, don't say goodbye." Sasaku felt tears come to his eyes as he and Ino held each other tightly. He muttered the word once; so softly Ino hardly heard it. But that was all it took to set her off. She began crying in his arms, his chest becoming wet with her tears. Tears fell off his own cheeks, landing in her hair. They stayed there for over an hour, before Sasaku stood, leaving Ino there crying with her face buried in her hands._

_ Sasaku walked back to camp. He was almost tempted to look back at her, just to see her one more time. But he knew if he did, he would lose all courage, and would never face Suzaku. He trudged back to camp. The others that were going were there too. They had all said their goodbyes as well. Each looked grave, each one of them knowing there was the possibility that they would never come back to announce the good news that Suzaku had been killed... if he was..._

Sasaku's head snapped up. He realized he had been crying. Suzaku had appeared on the other side of the ruins. He stared at them all. "Well," he said, "Glad to see you're all here. So Sasaku, are you ready to give up? Or are you going to try to stand and fight."

Sasaku grinned, changing the katanas into the claws. Then the white chakra of the Shainingu Tora enveloped him. The ten tails began to lash about him wildly. He had the Tomokenzan Kagamimanako in his eyes. "Take a guess..."

Next to him, Naruto released all nine tails, the chakra covering him, and him gaining the red eyes and the feral look of the fox. Since the fox itself wasn't summoned, he still got those qualities, but Naruto still had total control.

Sasuke's curse mark spread halfway across his body, and he had a Mangekyo Sharingan in his eyes. Somehow, he attained it when he killed the Life Clone of Itachi, he just didn't realize it until he trained with the Sharingan.

Ishimaru made the sign of the snake. Earth shot up around him, and then began to cover him as an armor, followed by roots coming in from the ground for structure. By the time it was done, he was eight feet tall, and his appendages were a thick as a tree trunk. He became a walking tank of earth.

And Ryu unleashed his yellow chakra. It blazed around him like fire. It was so intense, even his eyes changed to yellow in color. The chakra flared, and it was obvious that he was using the actual chakra of Osore at this point.

Suzaku stared at them, and a grin crossed his face. In both his hands he formed two Burning Rasengans. Then he launched both of them at the group. With two Burning Rasengan Cannons, the attack was gigantic. It struck the group, and Suzaku let the blast go for another second, then cut it off. When he saw where they were, there was a large shell of earth and wood. The wood was burning, and the earth was white hot.

It then exploded outwards. Suzaku smashed through a large chunk that shot at him, and then looked again. The group didn't even seem phased. Suzaku frowned. He looked them over. Ishimaru was probably the weakest one of the group, and yet he was able to stop two of his Burning Rasengan Cannons. He let out an exasperated breath.

Then Sasaku came straight in to attack. Ryu ran to the right, and then Naruto ran to the left. Naruto reached him first, and Suzaku blocked a punch and flipped Naruto over his shoulder before throwing him into the ground. Then came Ryu. Suzaku ducked under a blast of his chakra, and spun around him. He kneed Ryu in the back, sending him rolling foreword.

Then Sasaku came in and slashed at Suzaku with the claws. He left a large gash on Suzaku's face. Suzaku stared at Sasaku in amazement, and Sasaku grinned. He then came in with the other claw, but Suzaku jumped back. "Shining Style:" Sasaku yelled, "Tsukigata Tsuki!" He slashed the claws down, and from each one came a Tsukigata Tsuki.

The yellow crescent energy just barely missed Suzaku. Then Sasuke came in close to Suzaku, as if to attack him. He landed a punch in Suzaku's stomach. Ishimaru came in and hammered Suzaku in the back. This sent him twirling foreword. He landed in a crash, sending up some smoke.

_To be continued..._


	133. Endgame 2

Ishimaru grinned at his success. He saw Suzaku walk out of some rubble that he had crashed into. Then Ryu came in and fired off all the chakra he could at him. This sent Suzaku flying into what remained of a building, crashing it down. Suzaku pulled himself from the wreckage. "By the way Ryu," Suzaku said, "I killed off all the Andari Renegades."

This caught Ryu off guard. "Their leader, Takeshi," Suzaku continued, "Gave me a dying wish."

"Takeshi?" Ryu said, "My..." Suddenly, Suzaku was over to where Ryu was, and had stabbed him in the chest.

"Your fathers last wish was that I kill you," Suzaku whispered in his ear. Ryu growled, and stabbed his knife in Suzaku's side. Suzaku gasped, and Ryu grinned.

"If I'm going down," he said, "You're going down with me!" Suzaku growled, and shoved Ryu away. The kunai was still in his chest, and there was a paper bomb on it. He pulled out the kunai, and threw it into the ground between him and Suzaku. Suzaku pulled the knife out of his side, and shattered it in his hand. The bomb blew up, and Ryu was thrown back.

"Ryu!" Sasaku yelled. Ryu landed face down in a small pit. Sasaku jumped down to him. Half of Ryu's face was burned severely. He cracked his eyes open. "Ryu!" Sasaku said, "Ryu! You're going to be okay!"

Ryu smirked. "Liar," he said. After a short pause, he continued, "He's all yours. I hope I get to see Suzaku in Hell within the hour."

"Ryu..."

"Tell Ami," he muttered, "How much I really care..." He then went limp and his head drooped. Sasaku gulped and closed Ryu's eyes. He stood, then looked over to Suzaku. His side had been healed, and he was grinning as he stared at Sasaku. Sasaku then fired off a barrage of Tsukigata Tsuki, letting out a shout.

Suzaku jumped out of the way, then jumped high into the air. He spun around and threw ten kunais in a circle around them, about a hundred feet in diameter. Then Suzaku began using his Flying Wind God to transport himself to the kunai. Sasuke swore. "Everyone!" he yelled, "Get out of the circle!"

Sasaku and Naruto both jumped out of the circle right away, and Ishimaru began to make his way out. However, he was moving really slowly because of the heavy armor. "Ishimaru!" Sasuke yelled, "Move!" But, right then, the Hurricane Rasengan was finished. Then Suzaku jumped up above it and launched a fireball into the Rasengan. It burned and blazed, all the while threatening to suck them in.

Sasaku swore, and leapt above the fireball at Suzaku, who was caught off guard. He slashed Suzaku across the chest with the claws, leaving four gashes. Suzaku fell backwards and swore. Then Sasaku fell right down on the Burning Hurricane Rasengan, attacking it. As soon as he made contact with the claws and the Rasengan, it exploded and vanished.

Suzaku, Naruto, and Sasuke all stared in amazement. Sasaku looked around when he hit the ground. He couldn't see Ishimaru, nor could he see Ryu's body. He let out a roar, and then jumped at Suzaku. Just as Suzaku was about to jump out of the way, a hand shot out of the ground and grabbed his ankle. Suzaku looked at it in shock, and Sasaku used the chance to get in a solid slash with his claws.

Suzaku fell back a little, and then Sasaku kicked him in the chest, making him go flying. The hand reached up, and an arm stretched out, followed by the rest of Ishimaru. He grinned and winked at Sasaku. But then, Suzaku jumped and elbowed Ishimaru in the side of the head. Ishimaru was thrown into the wall a good hundred meters away, and fell to the ground, completely out cold.

Naruto swore, and came in at Suzaku full speed. He punched him across the face, and then swept his legs out from under him. Suzaku did a back flip, and came in to punch Naruto, but Naruto parried it and threw his shoulder into Suzaku's stomach in a tackle. Suzaku kicked him off, then stood. He heard a loud noise and whipped around. Sasuke was coming in full speed with a Chidori.

Suzaku stepped to the side, and Sasuke glanced his arm. Suzaku grabbed Sasuke by the hair and threw him. Sasuke landed with a skid, and then made a hand sign. "Fire Style:" he yelled, "Blaze of Glory!" The white-hot flames of the Blaze of Glory launched, and Suzaku was struck dead on. When the smoke cleared, Suzaku stood there with his arms crossed to block. They were burnt slightly.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sasaku all stood around Suzaku in a triangle. "Surprised," Sasaku said, "Don't be. We're taking you out no matter what!" Suzaku looked to each and every one of them.

"The only one with strength to match mine," Suzaku said, "The only person I have ever trained, and the only person alive to share my blood. The three have all gathered themselves to face me." He looked to Naruto. "Why do you go against me, little brother?"

"You betrayed the village!" Naruto said, "You betrayed our father! You're my enemy, not my brother!" Right then, something shattered in Suzaku. He held his head in his hand.

"No," he growled, "No, you're not my brother. You're not my brother, and he wasn't my father. You're _his_!" Suzaku let out a shout into the air. "This wasn't my plan! This was _his_!" He looked at Naruto, and pointed a finger at him. "You!" he yelled, "Each and every person in this world, I will kill them all! I am stronger than _him_! I will be better than _him_! _He_ only wanted to destroy the nations! I WILL DESTROY EVERYONE!"

An evil laughter went through the air. Sasaku stared at Suzaku in fear, and chills went up and down his spine. He felt the goose bumps on his arms. Naruto and Sasuke both ran over to him. "He's gone crazy!" Sasuke said, "He's lost it!"

"No, really Sasuke?" Naruto yelled, "I thought that he was completely sane!"

"Guys, save it!" Sasaku yelled, "We've got bigger problems!" They all watched as Suzaku ripped at his hair, and yelled and swore into the air. Slowly, he seemed to calm down.

"I will destroy this world," Suzaku said, raising a finger to them, "And I will start with you!"

_To be continued..._


	134. Endgame 3

Suzaku stopped and grinned, looking at the three of them. "Thank you, Naruto," he said, "You have helped me. I know my purpose now. I will prove I am the strongest, and I will do it by eliminating everyone else."

"I'd like to see you try," came a voice from behind Suzaku. He whipped around and saw Itachi running at him. Everyone looked at Itachi in shock. He ran at Suzaku, and tried to attack him, but Suzaku dodged it and stepped around Itachi. Then Suzaku tried to kick out his legs, but Itachi hopped up and spun in the air, kicking Suzaku across the cheek.

Suzaku growled as he fell back, and he tried to grab Itachi's ankle. But Itachi whipped out a kunai and hit Suzaku right between the first finger and the thumb. Suzaku gasped, and then Itachi hit him in the chest with his knee. Suzaku swore, and a wall of fire gathered around him and burst out. Then, four other Suzaku's stood there. Fire Clones.

Each one came at Itachi, but he took down each one. He looked Suzaku in the eyes. The Mangekyo was ineffective; he knew that. But still, he found himself surprised that Suzaku was smiling as he stared at him. Then Suzaku formed a Burning Rasengan, and instantly launched a Burning Rasengan Cannon. It was so fast Itachi never saw it coming.

Sasaku, Naruto, and Sasuke stared in shock. Suzaku gripped the kunai in his hand and yanked it out. Blood spilled with it. A chakra came from Suzaku's other hand, and he healed the wound, along with many others. Sasuke swore. "Every time we do some damage," he said, "He just heals himself!"

"Then let's give 'im one he can't heal!" Sasaku said, changing the claws into the guillotine sword. Naruto nodded, then moved in quickly. He swiped at Suzaku, who ducked and smashed Naruto in the chest. Then Sasuke came in with a kick. Suzaku grabbed his ankle, and Sasuke whipped around, breaking his grip. He then punched Suzaku in the jaw, and punched him again in the stomach.

Suzaku fell back, and Sasaku came in with the sword. It barely missed, and after a few more swings, Sasaku realized it was to slow for this, so he changed it to the katanas. He stabbed, slashed, and swiped, and each time was barely dodged by Suzaku. Then, Suzaku hit Sasaku in the chest and sent him flying back. Sasaku landed gracefully. "You said that Naruto wasn't your brother," he said, "You said he was _his_. What did you mean?"

"I mean," Suzaku said, "That Naruto isn't my brother; he's Suzaku's. The Fourth Hokage wasn't my father; he was Suzaku's. I have no parents. I have no family."

"Then," Sasaku said, slowly, the realization dawning on him, "You're a Life Clone! Where's the real Suzaku?"

"Heh, you catch on quick," Suzaku laughed, "Suzaku created me, and gave me his trust. However, I grew hungry for power. I didn't want to share the power with that fool. If he were in charge, threats would still exist. Tsunade would be alive, and you Sasaku, you would have been his before you could even consider touching a tail. He wanted to rule the lands. I knew better. I know better yet now."

"But where is Suzaku?" Naruto yelled. There was a tinge of hope in his voice.

"Sealed away," Suzaku said, laughing evilly, "Deep in the forest in the Land of Sound. The seal is unbreakable, and will remain that way for as long as I live."

"And if you don't?" Sasuke asked. Suzaku grinned.

"Okay, I'll play your game. Let's pretend you three can strike me down this day. My chakra will remain in the seal, and it probably will not wear off for twenty years, give or take a few."

"Well our twenty year countdown," Sasaku said, charging in, "Starts now!" He ran in at Suzaku, catching him off guard. Suzaku stepped sideways, and Sasaku slashed down. In one, clean swipe, Suzaku's left arm came clean off. He looked at Sasaku in shock. "Heal that!" Sasaku smirked.

Suzaku whipped around and smashed Sasaku in the side of the head, sending him back. Suzaku fell to his knees, holding the bleeding side of his torso. "Alright guys!" Sasaku said, "We can get him! Now, all we need is one final attack. Anything less than the strongest isn't going to work!"

Sasaku looked. He saw Raiden, Ryu, Ichigo, and Tsunade. Each of them nodded at him, and then faded into nothingness. "I got it!" Sasaku said. They were right next to the wall of the village, and he jumped onto it. He motioned for the others to join him. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sasaku all sat on the wall, in a triangle. They looked straight out at Suzaku. He'd risen to his feet and was running at them now.

"Alright guys," Sasaku said, "Just trust me with this one!" He held his palms towards them. Sasuke and Naruto did the same, having everyone's palms facing each other. Between Sasuke's and Sasaku's,a raging Chidori formed, almost blinding white. Naruto and Sasaku formed a Rasengan between their hands, large and with massive force. And between Sasuke and Naruto, Naruto formed a Rasengan, and Sasuke applied fire, making a Burning Rasengan.

Suzaku was within a hundred feet of them now. "GO!" all three of them yelled at the same time. They each thrust their hands up, merging them with each other. Suzaku let out a battle cry as the giant blast of rainbow energy shot right at him. It struck with a blinding intensity. The three of them kept the blast up for some time, and then it slowly faded. They all jumped off the wall.

Sasuke put down his Sharingan, and Naruto and Sasaku both stopped using the chakra of their demons. Ishimaru woke up, and walked over next to them. Once the smoke cleared, they saw Suzaku standing, his legs shaking, and his whole body burnt and bloody. "No way!" Sasaku said. Suzaku was slowly limping towards them. He suddenly fell to the ground. Sasaku walked up to him, and stood over him as he lay panting.

"I guess you win," Suzaku said. Sasaku remained silent. "Well," Suzaku said, "I'm not going alone." He made a hand sign. Sasaku's eyes widened. It was a suicide jutsu, one that would make an explosion big enough to destroy the Leaf Village five times over again. He whipped around and yelled for them to run. But it wasn't quick enough. The explosion went off, and everything went white.


	135. Epilogue

_Two weeks later..._

The whole of the unnamed village was gathered around the Kage mansion. Ishimaru, Sasuke, Sakura, Karei, Ami, and all the others from their year stood in a group. "So, has anyone seen Sasaku?" Ishimaru - who was sporting a broken arm - asked. As if to answer his question, Ino came through the crowd, followed swiftly by Sasaku, who was in a wheelchair. Everyone ran up to him.

"Glad they let you out for the ceremony," Sasuke said, giving him a knuckle touch. Sasaku laughed, and Karei threw her arms around him in a hug, as did Ami. He exchanged some greetings with everyone else, and then an elder walked out onto the balcony of the mansion, and everyone fell silent.

"Citizens," he said, "We have had a grave time. Suzaku had tricked us all, and as a result, we lost our village. But, we have a new one. A village of hope. A village of beginnings. And this village needs a leader. Therefore, it is my privilege to present to you, Uzumaki Naruto, one of the Three Heroes!"

The crowed erupted as Naruto stepped out, wearing the outfit of his father. He waved to the crowd, and then motioned for silence. It took more than a minute for the roar of the crowd to die. Naruto cleared his throat. "I don't know if I'm ready for this," he said, "But I have been asked to lead this new village. I will take the responsibility with the utmost seriousness, and I promise, I will protect this village, just as my father, the fourth Hokage, did. If any are opposed, say so now!"

Not a soul stirred. Naruto looked out at the crowd for a few moments, and then smiled. "Then from this day forth," he said, "I will be Uzukami Naruto, the First Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Flames!" The crowed roared again. Sasaku clapped madly, then looked at everyone around him. He then caught Naruto's eye. Naruto winked, and Sasaku winked back.

"Good job Naruto," Sasaku said, "Good job..."

Ino was walking through the park, with Sasaku rolling along next to her. The two were talking and laughing as if there weren't a trouble in the world. There was a festival going on in the village, but Sasaku wanted some peace for a while. So he and Ino had walked out to the lake. They went to the small peninsula where the statue of Suzaku once was. Now, there was a memorial for all those who died because of Suzaku.

He and Ino looked at it for a while. Sasaku smiled. "When we were going against Suzaku," he said, "I never thought it would end. Not while I was alive. It makes me so happy to know that the village has finally been put in order."

Ino nodded, and began rubbing Sasaku's shoulders as he stared up at the memorial. He saw his brother's name, then Ryu's, and then Tsunade's. He felt a tear reach his eye, but quickly blinked it out. There was to much to be happy for, he couldn't cry. "He named the village after you," Ino said. Sasaku gave her a questioning look.

"Naruto," she said, "The Hidden Flame Village, that's what he named it." Sasaku grinned.

"Enkou huh?" Sasaku said, "Now that's gonna take some getting used to."

"Oh please," Ino said, "Each of the Three Heroes got their recognition. This lake, it's called Uchiha Lake you know. And then Naruto got the position of Hokage."

"Right," Sasaku said, "But I think there's a little more pressure when there's a village that has your name..." They stood in silence. After a minute, Sasaku grunted and stood up.

"You shouldn't do that," Ino warned.

"Oh," Sasaku said, "But if I didn't I couldn't do this!" He swept up Ino, and she began laughing as he spun around a few times. He stopped, and the two stared at each other. Ino wrapped her arms around his neck, and the two of them kissed. He held her for another moment, and then had to put her down and sit back in the wheelchair. Ino sat on the arm of it, and leaned her head on his.

Sasaku reached his arm up, and wrapped it around her waist. They stayed there for a long time, and then Sasaku heard footsteps behind them. He turned, and saw Naruto walking their way. "Well, well," Sasaku said, turning around, "If it aint the new Hokage, coming back to visit the little people."

Naruto laughed. "Good luck," he said, "Becoming one of the little people." The two of them laughed. "Now, the two of you," Naruto said, "After this all dies down, I want to see the two of you at the Hokage mansion. I'm having a dinner party with everyone from our year."

"That's good," Sasaku said, "A private celebration with all your friends sure beats this public festival."

"Actually," Ino said, "He's probably using this as an 'in-your-face' moment for those who said he'd never be Hokage."

"Yeah," Naruto said, "Pretty much." The three of them laughed.

"You may be Hokage," Sasaku said, "First Hokage of the Flame Village, to be specific, but you're still the number one nucklehead ninja!" Naruto laughed.

"Alright," he said, "I better get back before I'm missed. I'll see the two of you tonight."

"See ya!" Ino called. They watched Naruto walk back towards the village. Then Ino and Sasaku looked to each other. Ino bent over and kissed Sasaku on the cheek. "Come on," she said, "Let's go see how this festival is coming."

_The End_

**And this time, I mean it. That's it, Shinobi Tales is done and over with. I hope you all enjoyed it. Man, I can't believe it's actually over. I'm almost tempted to do a sequel, or maybe some spin-offs. I don't know, we'll see. I actually kinda got an idea for a sequel, but if fan base says to call it quits, then I'm putting the story down, leaving it as is.**

**Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed Shinobi Tales. R&R!**

**(But seriously, I think I might do that sequel)**


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